Optoelectronic oscillator topologies based on resonant tunneling diode fiber optic links

Abstract

We investigate optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) configurations based on a laser diode driven by resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) optical waveguide photo-detector (PD) oscillators, with an optical fiber feedback loop carrying a fraction of the laser diode optical output that is re-injected into the OEO through the optical waveguide of the RTD-PD. In the configurations reported here, we take advantage of the RTD negative differential resistance to provide electrical highbandwidth. The optical fiber loop acts as a high quality optical energy storage element with low transmission loss. The RTD based OEO can produces stable and low-phase noise microwave signals with attractive applications in photonics and communication systems, mainly in fiber-optic based communication links since the RTD-OEO can be accessed both optically and electrically. © 2011 Copyright Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).