A Millimeter-Wave Generation Scheme

Based on Frequency Octupling Using

LiNbO3 Mach–Zehnder Modulator

P. K. Anand Prem & Arvind Chakrapani

National Academy Science Letters

ISSN 0250-541X
Volume 42
Number 5

Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. (2019) 42:401-406

DOI 10.1007/s40009-018-0766-3

1 23
Your article is protected by copyright and all
rights are held exclusively by The National
Academy of Sciences, India. This e-offprint
is for personal use only and shall not be self-
archived in electronic repositories. If you wish
to self-archive your article, please use the
accepted manuscript version for posting on
your own website. You may further deposit
the accepted manuscript version in any
repository, provided it is only made publicly
available 12 months after official publication
or later and provided acknowledgement is
given to the original source of publication
and a link is inserted to the published article
on Springer's website. The link must be
accompanied by the following text: "The final
publication is available at link.springer.com”.

1 23
 Author's personal copy
Natl. Acad. Sci. Lett. (September–October 2019) 42(5):401–406
https://doi.org/10.1007/s40009-018-0766-3
SHORT COMMUNICATION
A Millimeter-Wave Generation Scheme Based on Frequency
Octupling Using LiNbO3 Mach–Zehnder Modulator
P. K. Anand Prem1 • Arvind Chakrapani1
Received: 10 November 2016 / Revised: 24 March 2018 / Accepted: 27 December 2018 / Published online: 5 February 2019
 The National Academy of Sciences, India 2019
Abstract The proposed frequency octupling method
demonstrates the generation of millimeter-wave (mmw)
signal using LiNbO3 Mach–Zehnder modulator based on
frequency octupling. The optical carrier suppression mod-
ulation scheme is employed to produce a mmw signal of
80 GHz. The advantage of this scheme is that the fre-
quency can be generated by using single LiNbO3 intensity
modulator by adjusting the bias voltage and modulation
voltage. When compared to the other experiments carried
out for the generation of mmw, this scheme has better
performance in terms of bit error rate and cost-effective-
ness. The data rate of 3 GB/s has been transmitted over
standard single-mode fiber for a distance of 50 km, and the
result includes optical spectrum, electrical spectrum, eye
diagram and Q-factor in order to ensure the robustness of
generated mmw signal.
Keywords Lithium niobate Mach–Zehnder modulator 
Optical carrier suppression  Optical spectrum 
Bandpass filter  Millimeter-wave generation 
Frequency octupling
& Arvind Chakrapani
arvichakra@gmail.com
P. K. Anand Prem
anandprem.2008@gmail.com
1
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering,
Karpagam College of Engineering, Coimbatore 641032, India
Introduction
The never-ending demand for broadband data transmission
has made the researchers to explore different communica-
tion methods including radio frequency (RF) communica-
tion and optical fiber communication. Since optical
communication is free of interference and cross talk, it is
employed for high-speed data transmission. In the form of
optical waves, the signals are transmitted through the
optical fiber for a long distance to service the need for
broadband data transmission. Due to the hackneyed usage
of battery-powered devices, the need for large bandwidth is
observed in the wireless and wired communication for
applications like high-definition (HD) video conferencing
and multimedia services [1]. When compared to the mmw
signal generation in electrical domain, the optical fiber has
more advantages like better security and less transmission
loss. The widely used medium for the transmission of
mmw is an optical fiber rather than a coaxial cable due to
its ability to avoid interference and cross talk [2, 3]. The
transmission of mmw through an optical fiber has the
advantages like reduced dispersion and fading effect, and
also it is possible to develop a low-cost circuit with better
performance [4]. Moreover, anyone can use an optical fiber
without any special training due to its shock resistance
property. The increase in capacity and bandwidth is pro-
vided by radio-over-fiber (RoF) technique in order to cater
the never-ending demand for high-speed internet connec-
tivity [5, 6]. The generation of millimeter-wave signals by
optical means is a preferred method due to the cost
involved and the quality of the generated signal in RoF
system. The use of microwave range for the large data
transmission leads to congestion problem which increases
the time delay in microwave range [7]. In this scenario, the
use of mmw plays an important role to overcome the
123
 Author's personal copy
402
limitations of microwave range which requires wide
bandwidth [8]. The millimeter wave has a frequency range
of 30–300 GHz which supports high bandwidth for
broadband data transmission. When the millimeter waves
are transmitted through the air as the medium, oxygen
present in the air will absorb the wave due to which the
fading effect dominates [9]. Hence, the transmission of
millimeter wave through an optical fiber is a viable method
to avoid fading effect and thus the efficiency is increased
for long-distance transmission [10]. In this article, the data
are transmitted at the rate of 3 Gb/s through a single-mode
optical fiber for distance of 50 km using an external
modulator which multiplies the tupling frequency in the
presence of less bias voltage.
Related Work
Since the mmw signal generation in optical domain has
created avenues for providing high-speed data transfer, a
significant amount of research activities has been carried
out by the researchers in the recent past. The suggested
works by the researchers in the field of mmw signal gen-
eration are presented in this section. A frequency sextu-
pling method employs two cascaded intensity modulators
and optical carrier suppression method to produce a mmw
signal [11, 12], while sextupling is achieved by using two
parallel MZM by keeping the extinction ratio as 26 dB. It
is inherent that in optical domain, signal generation by
multiplying the frequency by an integer factor has paved
way for further advancement in the field of mmw genera-
tion [13]. A frequency octupling method to generate mmw
using nested MZM and cascaded MZM is presented
[14, 15]. Based on the review performed, this article pro-
poses a mmw generation based on frequency octupling and
optical carrier suppression scheme uses a single LiNbO3
MZM by keeping the extinction ratio as 30 dB. When
compared to other works this scheme has simpler config-
uration due to the use of a single LiNbO3 MZM with
25 dB extinction ratio for the generation of mmw to
achieve long-distance transmission with data rate of 3 GB/
s. The method employs LiNbO3 MZM to eliminate the use
of filter to suppress the undesired signals, and hence, the
method is viable and inexpensive. The work has been
analyzed by transmitting the generated optical mmw signal
for a distance of 50 km, while the quality of signal is
estimated by using the eye diagram, optical spectrum and
RF spectrum.
123
P. K. Anand Prem, A. Chakrapani
Principle of Millimeter-Wave Generation
The experimental setup for the generation of optical mmw
based on frequency octupling is given in Fig. 1. In the
central station (CS), continuous wave laser will act as a
source signal which has a frequency of 193.1 THz, and a
linewidth of 10 MHz to carry the pseudo-random bit
sequence (data, 3 GB/s) through the optical fiber. The
carrier signal and the data signal are mixed using mixer and
given to the LiNbO3 MZM. By providing proper modula-
tion and bias voltage, the optical carrier suppression
modulation takes place to produce a carrier suppressed
wave signal at the modulator output.
Thus double-sideband suppression of wave signal and
even-order optical sidebands are suppressed in the CS. The
suppressed carrier signal is transmitted through the single-
mode optical fiber for a 50-km distance. In the base station
(BS), a photodiode is used for converting an optical signal
into an electrical signal and visualizers are employed to
analyze the quality of the mmw generated. In cases where
the transmission distance through a fiber is greater than
50 km, a bandpass filter is required to drive the wave to the
antenna.
Mathematical Analysis
In this section, the generation of mmw based on frequency
octupling is mathematically analyzed. The data rate up to
3 GB/s is given to the MZM with the carrier signal of
frequency xc by fixing the bias voltage and modulation
voltage to 13 V for suppressing the even-order optical
sideband and the carrier signal.
The electric field at the MZM output produces a con-
structive amplitude-modulated signal which is a superpo-
sition of the input wave and its phase-shifted version. The
electric field of the output signal is mathematically
expressed as follows:
 
Eout ðtÞ ¼ 0:5 ejDb1 ðtÞ þ ejDb2 ðtÞ ejxc t ; ð1Þ
the phase variation of the electric field is defined as Db1 ðtÞ
and Db2 ðtÞ
p
Dbi ðtÞ ¼ Vi ðtÞ; i ¼ 1; 2
Vp
where (Vpp ) = g is the index change per volt, Vp is the half-
wave voltage and Vi ðtÞ is the voltage applied at the arms of
MZM.
When the operating point is placed at the center of the
quasi-linear characteristics of MZM, the phase change
becomes
 Author's personal copy
A Millimeter-Wave Generation Scheme Based on Frequency Octupling Using LiNbO3 Mach–Zehnder…
Fig. 1 Experimental setup for
mmw generation using LiNbO3
MZM
CW Laser
Data
CS
p eye diagram visualizer after transmitting the optical signal
Db1 ðtÞ ¼ gV1 Cosðxm tÞ 
2 for a 50-km distance.
Db2 ðtÞ ¼ gV2 Cosðxm tÞ
where xm is the modulating voltage.
Rewriting Eq. (1) using Euler’s formula
Eout ðtÞ ¼ 0:5ðCosðDb1 ðtÞÞ þ jSinðDb1 ðtÞ þ CosðDb2 ðtÞÞ
þ jSinðDb2 ðtÞÞejxc t
The resulting electric field is a sum of terms which can
be expressed in terms of Bessel function. Hence, the MZM
output contains an addition of multiple sidebands that is a
sum of Bessel function. The MZM output in terms of
Bessel function series is given as follows:
Eout ðtÞ ¼ 0:5ððB0 ðgV2 Þ  jB0 ðgV1 ÞÞ
X1
þ ðB2n1 ðgV1 Þ þ jB2n1 ðgV2 ÞÞ sinðð2n  1Þxm tÞ
n¼1
X
1
þ ðB2n ðgV2 Þ þ jB2n ðgV1 ÞÞ cos 2nxm tÞÞ
n¼1
where Bn is a Bessel function of first kind of order n.
The optical sideband which corresponds to n = 4 and
Bessel function of second order is retained to achieve
frequency octupling. All other optical sidebands are sup-
pressed by varying the bias and modulation voltage. The
output of photodiode in electrical domain is expressed as
follows:
Vout ðtÞ ¼ B28 ðgV2 ÞB28 ðgV1 Þ cosð8xm t þ 4u1 þ 4u2 Þ
where u1 and u2 are the phase of the electrical signal V1
and V2 , respectively.
The expression of Vout ðtÞ shows that the frequency
octupling has been achieved for the proposed system and
the generated mmw is observed in both optical and elec-
trical spectrum. The quality of signal is checked by using
403
Bias Voltage
OSA
LiNbO3 Photodiode BPF
MZM Fiber
Visualizers
Modulation
Voltage BS
Experimental Results
The generated mmw signal and the quality of the signal are
verified by using the visualizers like optical spectrum, eye
diagram. The data rate of 3 GB/s is modulated on to
10 GHz radio frequency for getting the 80 GHz which is
clearly indicated in the electrical spectrum analyzer. The
rate of energy loss can be estimated by using Q-factor
when the modulated optical signal is transmitted through
the optical fiber for a distance of 50 km. Figure 2 shows
the observational result of the generated optical signal in
terms of optical and electrical spectrum. The optical
spectrum and the electrical spectrum of the generated mmw
signal for the frequency 80 GHz at a distance of 50 km are
shown in Fig. 2a, b. The eye diagram shown in Fig. 2c is
wide open when the mmw is transmitted over an optical
fiber of length 50 km. It is a clear indication that the data
transmitted using optical signal is preserved and can be
reconstructed. The Q-factor is obtained by using BER
analyzer, since the resonant photon’s average lifetime is
proportional to the Q-factor; it is expressed as a function of
time in Fig. 2d.
The reliability of the proposed method is verified in
terms of quality factor when the generated optical signal is
transmitted for different length of the fiber. It is inferred
from Table 1 that the proposed method is reliable when the
signal has to be transmitted within a distance of 50 km
through an optical fiber and the signal transmission quality
is better when compared to other existing methods.
Table 1 shows the simulation results for the different
values of quality factor with the change in fiber length of
the existing method with that of the proposed method. The
optical signal generated based on quadrupler, sextupler and
123
 Author's personal copy
404 P. K. Anand Prem, A. Chakrapani

Fig. 2 Observational result of the generated optical millimeter-wave signal

Table 1 Fiber length versus quality factor

Fiber Quality factor
length in
km Zhang et al. method [11] Mohamed et al. method [12] Ma et al. method [14] Proposed method
(quadrupler using cascaded (sextupling using cascaded MZM) (octupling using nested (octupling using single
MZM) MZM) MZM)

10 59.12 60.27 53.33 55.76

20 58.22 56.35 52.53 54.32
30 55.95 51.22 52.43 53.78
40 55.54 49.14 51.76 52.16
50 49.61 48.20 51.72 51.91
60 48.51 48.12 45.54 48.21

123
 Author's personal copy
A Millimeter-Wave Generation Scheme Based on Frequency Octupling Using LiNbO3 Mach–Zehnder… 405

octupler using various MZM topology for the generation of Extinction ratio increases the power level of the optical
mmw [5, 6, 8] is taken for the comparison of quality factor signal obtained by the modulator in order to decrease the
with the proposed method. The quality factor above 50 is formation of bit error during the transmission. Hence,
considered to be good for the signal transmission. In the extinction ratio plays a vital role in the determination of
proposed method, for a fiber length of 50 km, the quality BER performance. The BER is obtained by taking the ratio
factor is above 50 and when the optical fiber length between the number of error bit and total number of bit
increases to 60 km, the quality factor reduces significantly. transmitted. The main aim of this section is to reduce the
When compared to existing method, better quality factor is BER using less extinction ratio (ER). In the proposed
achieved by using single LiNbO3 MZM. After 50 km, an method, for the generation of mmw, an extinction ratio of
amplifier can be used to increase the quality factor but the 20 dB is used so that the error occurred while transmission
overall setup becomes expensive. through a 50-km optical fiber is negligible, whereas in [14],
In order to manipulate the bit error performance an ER of 25 dB is required to maintain a constant BER
occurred during transmission of signal with the increase in [14], while only 20 dB is required in the proposed method
extinction ratio, a table is formed between BER and the so that power consumption is reduced. From Table 2, BER
extinction ratio. The proposed work is compared with the takes a constant value but the ER required to get constant
existing work [14] to generate the octupling frequency, and BER in the proposed work is less compared to the existing
the simulation results are presented using their respective method [14]. Figure 3 shows the graphical representation
experimental setup. of BER versus extinction ratio which justifies the BER
convergence rate of the proposed method.
Since optical signal can transmit more amount of
information when compared to other modulation schemes,
Table 2 BER versus extinction ratio the proposed mmw generation using LiNbO3 MZM is a
Extinction Bit error rate (BER) feasible method for broadband data transmission. More-
ratio (dB) over, use of mmw in radar communication is preferred due
Ma et al. method [14] Proposed method
(octupling using nested MZM) (octupling using to its high-speed data transmission with negligible fading
single MZM) effects. Due to the avoidance of cross talk and interference,
the proposed mmw scheme can also overcome the limita-
10 1010 1015
15
tion of other wired and wireless data transmission schemes.
15 10 1020
20
The proposed method can also be extended to 12-tupling
20 10 1025
25
and 16-tupling scheme for efficient data transmission using
25 10 1025
proper bias voltage. The main advantage of the proposed
method is that filter is not required for suppressing the

Fig. 3 BER versus extinction ratio plot

123
 Author's personal copy
406
unwanted signals for a distance of 50 km due to the pres-
ence of carrier suppression technique which plays an
important role for realizing the cost-effective setup. In the
existing work [14], more than one modulator is used for
getting octupling frequency, but in the proposed work, only
single LiNbO3 modulator is sufficient; moreover, low
extinction ratio reduces the power consumption which
altogether makes the proposed method a cost-effective one.
Conclusion
A scheme for transmitting the data rate of 3 GB/s in mil-
limeter range using single LiNbO3 intensity modulator
based on frequency octupling is proposed. The mmw signal
generated using LiNbO3 intensity modulator with optical
carrier suppression technique is a reliable method due to its
simplicity. In order to ensure the quality of the generated
mmw signal, it has been transmitted for a distance of
50 km. The model proposed is less expensive and can be
used for long-distance data transmission effectively. The
design has been analyzed, and the result proves the
robustness of the signal generated by optical means.
References
1. Chen S, Zhao J (2014) The requirements, challenges and tech-
nologies for 5 g of terrestrial mobile telecommunication. IEEE
Commun Mag 52(5):36–43
2. Zhang J, Yu J, Chi N, Dong Z, Li X, Chang GK (2013) Mul-
tichannel 120-Gb/s data transmission over 2 9 2 MIMO fiber-
wireless link at W-band. IEEE Photon Technol Lett
25(8):780–783
3. Anand Prem PK, Chakrapani Arvind (2017) Optical millimeter
wave generation using external modulation—a review. Adv Nat
Appl Sci 11(1):8–12
123
P. K. Anand Prem, A. Chakrapani
4. Ma Jianxin JYu, Chongxiu Yu, Xin Xiangjun, Sang Xinzhu,
Zhang Qi (2010) 64 GHz optical millimeter wave generation by
octupling 8 GHz local oscillator via a nested LiNbO3 modulator.
Opt Laser Technol 42(2):264–268
5. Olmos JJV, Kuri T, Kitayama K (2007) Dynamic reconfigurable
WDM 60-GHz millimeter-waveband radio-over-fiber access
network: architectural considerations and experiment. J Light-
wave Technol 25:3374
6. Chen L, Wen H, Wen SC (2006) A radio-over-fiber system with a
novel scheme for millimeter-wave generation and wavelength
reuse for up-link connection. IEEE Photon Technol Lett 18:2056
7. Li X, Xiao J, Yu J (2016) Long-distance wireless mm-wave
signal delivery at W-band. J Lightwave Technol 34(1):1–8
8. Chowdhury A, Chien HC, Hsueh YT, Chang GK (2009)
Advanced system technologies and field demonstration for in-
building optical-wireless network with integrated broadband
services. J Lightwave Technol 27(22):1920–1927
9. Giannetti F, Luise M, Reggiannini R (1998) Mobile and personal
communications in the 60 GHz band: a survey. Wirel Pers
Commun 10:207–243
10. Smoczynski L, Marciniak M (2002) A comparison of different
radio over fiber system concept with regard to application in
mobile internet and multimedia. In: Proceedings of 4th interna-
tional conference transparent optical networks, vol 1, pp 211–213
11. Zhang J, Chen H, Chen M, Wang T, Xie S (2007) A photonic
microwave frequency quadrupler using two cascaded intensity
modulators with repetitious optical carrier suppression. IEEE
Photon Technol Lett 19:1057
12. Mohamed M, Zhang X, Hraimel B, Wu K (2008) Frequency
sextupler for millimeter-wave over fiber systems. Opt Express
16:10141
13. Shi P, Yu S, Li Z, Song J, Shen J, Qiao Y, Gu W (2010) A novel
frequency sextupling scheme for optical mm-wave generation
utilizing an integrated dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator.
Opt Commun 283(19):3667–3672
14. Ma J, Xin X, Yu J, Yu C, Wang K, Huang H, Rao L (2008)
Optical millimeter wave generated by octupling the frequency of
the local oscillator. J Opt Netw 7:837
15. Chen Y, Wen A, Shang L (2010) Analysis of an optical mm-wave
generation scheme with frequency octupling using two cascaded
Mach–Zehnder modulators. Opt Commun 283:4933–4941
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.