Equivalent photonic switch for microwave frequency shift keying signal generation

A photonic microwave frequency shift keying (FSK) signal generator is proposed and experimentally demonstrated based on an equivalent photonic switch (EPS). The EPS is constructed using a polarization-multiplexing dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (PM-DMZM). By properly controlling the data sequences and RF signals applied to the PM-DMZM, microwave FSK signals with flexible frequency intervals can be obtained. The proposed FSK signal generator features the advantages of a simple structure, low loss, good stability, and great frequency tunability. In addition, the proposed setup can also be easily reconfigured to generate microwave amplitude shift keying and phase shift keying signals. The experimental results show that 2 Gb/s at 5/14 GHz and 1 Gb/s at 6/20 GHz microwave FSK signals are successfully generated, after transmission over 5 km single-mode fiber. The required received optical power at 7% forward error correction threshold is only −14.48  dBm.