Wideband optoelectronic mixer for radio over fibreapplications at 28/38/60 GHz

Abstract
The authors propose a high speed optoelectronic millimetre-wave mixer, realised from the hybridisation of a wideband amplifier and a fast DFB laser that operates in the 20–60 GHz range. This source relies on a local oscillator (LO) port, using < 10 dBm of electrical modulation power at a modulation frequency in the 5–10 GHz range. These features are compatible with a commercially available RF oscillator. With a 32 GHz/0.3 A/W photodiode, the power levels obtained at 28 and 38 GHz are –23 and –33 dBm respectively. Assuming a flatband photodiode, > –40 dBm of electrical power is expected at 60 GHz.