Regeneratively mode-locked optoelectronic oscillator

Abstract

A regeneratively mode-locked optoelectronic oscillator is proposed to realize multi-mode phase locking in optoelectronic oscillators by coupling a modulating signal generation loop. To verify the feasibility of the scheme, a numerical simulation model is established. In addition, a proof-of-concept experiment is demonstrated in a single-loop optoelectronic oscillator with a 2.2 km polarization-maintaining single-mode fiber, using an electric amplitude modulator/Mach-Zehnder modulator as an active mode-locking device. The generated microwave pulse signal has a center frequency of 10 GHz and a repetition rate of 95 kHz. We believe this scheme can provide a new approach to overcome the problem of detuning between the modulating frequency and the mode spacing during long-term operation.