Optical mm-Wave Signal Generation by Frequency Quadrupling Using an Optical Modulator and a Silicon Microresonator Filter

Abstract

By adjusting the direct current (de) bias on an electrooptic modulator to suppress the first-order sideband and subsequently using a double-waveguide micro-ring resonator to filter out the optical carrier, millimeter (mm)-wave signal was generated at a frequency of four times the 10-GHz local oscillator. A monolithic integrated silicon-based optical mm-wave signal generator by frequency quadrupling is proposed. A silicon integrated microresonator filter was fabricated and its design parameters are given. High extinction ratio optical mm-wave signal was obtained. The single sideband noise spectrum of the generated 40-GHz optical signal was measured, showing similar performance when compared with that generated by a radio-frequency synthesizer.