Optical Single Sideband Modulation Using Strong Optical Injection-Locked Semiconductor Lasers

We report on the experimental demonstration of optical single sideband (SSB) modulation using a directly modulated semiconductor laser under strong optical injection-locking. Modulation sidebands with 15-dB power ratio between the lower and upper sidebands have been achieved. The longer wavelength sideband is resonantly amplified by the injection-locked laser cavity mode. The radio-frequency performance of the optical SSB after 80-km fiber transmission is significantly improved compared with a typical symmetric sideband modulation of a free-running laser. A 622-Mb/s data transmission on a 20-GHz subcarrier is demonstrated over an 80-km fiber link.