Generation and transmission of FM and π/4 DQPSK signals at microwave frequencies using harmonic generation and optoelectronic mixing in Mach-Zehnder modulators

A novel method of using the harmonic generation and optoelectronic mixing properties of Mach-Zehnder modulators to generate modulated subcarrier signals at high-order harmonics of the input signals is presented. The method permits the simultaneous transmission over optical fiber of a modulated and an unmodulated signal, both at high-order harmonic frequencies of the input signals, for the purpose of transmitting both a local oscillator tone and the modulated signal required at a base station for microcellular applications. We present the theory of operation and demonstrate the validity of the concept with a narrow band single-tone FM experiment as well as a 20-Mb/s /spl pi//4 DQPSK experiment.