Linearized optical single sideband Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator for radio over fiber systems

We propose a linearized optical single sideband Mach-Zehnder electro-optic modulator (MZ-EOM) for radio over fiber systems. This proposed modulator utilizes a dual-electrode MZ-EOM biased at quandrature, the two electrodes are fed with asymmetrical RF power through an 180? hybrid coupler and the two optical ports of MZ-EOM are bi-directionally injected by the same optical source, but with different optical power. Using such a modulator, third order nonlinear distortion is significantly suppressed and relative spurious free dynamic range is improved by 10 and 20 dB compared to dual-parallel linearized MZ-EOM and conventional MZ-EOM, respectively.