Optical carrier Brillouin processing of microwave photonic signals

Abstract
We introduce a novel concept in Brillouin signal processing based on modification of the optical carrier’s magnitude and phase by stimulated Brillouin scattering–induced depletion. The technique offers wideband processing and low noise and requires only low optical power. Application to the enhancement of a 25-km high-frequency analog link is experimentally demonstrated and yields a 6.5-GHz bandwidth extension and a 13-dB reduction in the link insertion loss without intermodulation distortion.