Electro-Optic Frequency Comb

Sources for Optical Communication

Applications
A dissertation submitted in the fulfillment for the requirements of the award of the degree of

Master of Technology
in
Optoelectronics and Optical Communication
Submitted by
Annu
2019JOP2157
Under the supervision of
Prof. Amol Choudhary,
Prof. Vivek Venkataraman
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI

May 2021
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the following report titled "Electro-optic Combs for Optical
communication applications" submitted by Annu, Entry number 2019JOP2157 in partial
fulfillment of the academic requirement for the Master of Technology in Optoelectronics and
Optical Communication, is a bonafide work done by her under our guidance. This work has not
been submitted to any other university or institution to award any degree or diploma.

Prof. Amol Choudhary Prof. Vivek Venkataraman

Amol.choudhary@ee.iitd.ac.in vivek.venkataraman@ee.iitd.ac.in
Department of Electrical Engineering Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to express my gratitude to my teachers, Professor Amol Choudhary and Professor Vivek
Venkataraman, for their valuable comments and discussion throughout this project. I am grateful
to them for constantly pushing and motivating me to think novel ideas and showing the right
direction, which helped me finalize this project within the limited time frame. Without their
support and encouragement, this work would not have been a successful one. It has been my
privilege to be your student.

I would also like to thank Mr. Rajveer Dhawan, who helped me in the commencement of this
project. We discussed the details of optical communication. Without his valuable inputs, this
quality of finishing would not be achieved. Thank you, sir, for your guidance in the completion
of this work.

I would also like to thank Miss Reena Parihar for her valuable feedback and support in this project.

Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents, family, and friends for their constant support
and inspiration.

Annu
Entry no: 2019JOP2157
Optoelectronic and Optical Communication
IIT Delhi
 CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF ACRONYMS
1. INTRODUCTION TO OPTICAL FREQUENCY COMBS 1-5
1.1 Background 1-2
1.2 Time and Frequency domain description 2-4
1.3 Mechanism of Comb Generation 4
1.4 Problem Statement 5
- Generation of flat and broad frequency comb
for optical communication application
1.5 Methodology Adapted 5
- Use of single EOM
- Cascade of EOMs
- Optimisation of RF signal
1.6 Thesis Layout 5

2. PRINCIPLE OF ELECTRO-OPTIC MODULATORS (EOMs) 6-8

2.1 Electro-optic Effect 6
2.2 Types of Modulators: 7-8
2.2.1 Phase Modulator 7-8
2.2.2 Mach-Zehnder Modulator 8

3. COMB GENERATION USING EOM 9-23

3.1 Phase Modulator 9-11
3.2 Mach-Zehnder Modulator 11-14
3.3 Cascade of modulators:
3.3.1 Cascade of IM and PM 14-18
3.3.2 Cascade of DPMZM and PM 19-23

4. NOVEL SCHEMES FOR THE GENERATION OF FLAT OFC 24-27

4.1 Cascade of IM and PM with the different RF signal applied on PM 24-25
4.2 Using Dual-Polarisation in DDMZM: 26-27
5. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK 28-29
5.1 Brief Summary 28-29
5.2 Future Outlook 29

BIBLIOGRAPHY 30-33
APPENDIX 34-40
 ABSTRACT
Electro-Optic Frequency Comb Sources for Optical
Communication Applications
The frequency comb is a set of discrete, equally spaced frequency lines. Such comb lines can be
generated with different optical processes like the output of optical resonators, the output of mode-
locked lasers, or the output spectra of electro-optic modulators (EOMs). Over the years, people
have shown an interest in the generation of optical combs owing to its diverse applications such
as optical synthesis, spectroscopy, optical clocks, generation of arbitrary optical waveforms,
meteorology [2], and optical communication.

Among the formerly mentioned techniques, combs generated by the mode-locked lasers and
electro-optic modulators have been the most capable candidates for generating flat combs.
However, although mode-locked lasers can create more lines, they do not offer the ability to tune
the frequency spacing, and they also suffer from stability issues. Whereas combs based on EOMs
require an electro-optic modulator, it provides an extra degree of freedom of tunability, robustness,
and stability. In addition, EOMs based generators have shown improvements in reducing the
driving voltages and increment in the bandwidths of OFCs. The OFCs, also known as frequency
locked because of the constant phase relationship between the generated comb lines [41].

The ideal characteristics of the optical frequency combs are dependent on application [3]. This
thesis focuses on different methods to generate optical combs using various types of electro-optic
modulators. The optical combs developed using these techniques will have better tunability and a
high repetition rate.

First, it explores the combs generated by the phase modulator (PM). After this, different results
obtained by the DD-MZM [38], the cascade of IM and PM [30] are reproduced. Then, the work
proposes a novel architecture of the OFC source based on an electro-optic modulator. In this
technique, an RF signal that combines cosine and sinc functions is used to feed the cascade
architecture of two intensity modulators (IM) and phase modulators (PM). A technique to generate
comb lines with more power per comb line using a low RF value is also discussed in this thesis.

Particular emphasis has been given to determine the driving conditions for the modulators that will
generate flat combs with greater bandwidth by using the lowest possible modulation voltages. This
thesis demonstrates diverse electro-optic modulators and simulates the equation to obtain the
results using the Matlab software.
 LIST OF FIGURES
Figure.1.1. Application wheel [11] showing various applications requiring various
characteristics of OFC
Figure.1.2. Illustration of the temporal and spectral domain of a pulsed laser source [38]
Figure.1.3. General Layout for optoelectronic frequency Comb generators
Figure.2.1. Schematic illustration of the (a)single drive MZM (b) dual-drive MZM [38]

Figure.3.1. Schematic showing Phase modulator (PM) for KV0 = 10 [38]

Figure.3.2. Simulated plot showing first four Bessel functions of the first kind

Figure.3.3. Simulated spectral output for PM for values KV0 = 2.4048 and KV0 = 10
Respectively

Figure.3.4. Configuration showing Dual drive Mach-Zehnder Modulator (DDMZM) [39]

Figure.3.5. Simulated output for the dual-drive Mach-Zehnder Modulator

Figure.3.6. Simulated output generated with MZM in a push-pull configuration having

KV0=10 having odd-order comb lines

Figure.3.7. Simulated output generated with MZM in a push-pull configuration having

KV0=10 having odd-order comb lines

Figure.3.8. Scheme illustrating the cascade of the intensity and Phase modulator for the
generation of the flat-top shaped combs [38]

Figure.3.9. Simulated output for the cascaded intensity and phase modulator with the y-axis
having normalized power and the x-axis having a frequency.

Figure.3.10. Plot showing time-domain signal after 1 IM ( blue), 2 IM(green), and the
temporal phase added by the PM(red)

Figure.3.11. Scheme for generation of OFC incorporating above mentioned modification

Figure.3.12. Simulated output spectra for the scheme mentioned above (a) for value KV0 =
10 with one PM (b) for value KV0 =10 with two PMs

Figure.3.13. Schematic showing dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder (DPMZM) structure [39]

Figure.3.14. Simulated output for the DPMZM with the suitable driving conditions

Figure.3.15. Schematic representation of the principle of flat-to compressed pulse with

DPMZM [40]
Figure.3.16. Schematic used for comb generation with the cascade of DPMZM and PM [40]

Figure.3.17. Simulated plot for the comparison of intensity-modulated output and

instantaneous the frequency between a cascade of IM_PM and DPMZM_PM
methods

Figure.3.18. Simulated output spectra for the proposed scheme having a cascade of
DPMZM and PM with suitable biasing conditions.

Figure.4.1. Simulated output for two IM and PM; PM is driven by a signal that combines
cosine and sinc.

Figure.4.2. Time-domain plot showing the field at the output of the IM and phase applied by
the PM

Figure.4.3. Schematic showing dual-polarisation through DDMZM and its simulated spectra
for KV0=10

LIST OF TABLES

Table1: Conclusion Table

 LIST OF ACRONYMS

OFC Optical Frequency Comb

EOM Electro-optic Modulator

EOC Electro-optic Comb

MLL Mode lock Laser

CEO Carrier envelope offset

CW continuous wave

PM Phase modulator

IM Intensity modulator

MZM Mach-Zehnder Modulator

DDMZM Dual-Drive Mach-Zehnder Modulator

DPMZM Dual-Parallel Mach-Zehnder Modulator

AOWG Arbitrary Optical Waveform Generator

AWG Arbitrary Waveform generator

OFD Optical frequency domain

SMF Single mode fiber

 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Optical Frequency Combs:
In 1964, MLL was developed by Hargrove et al., and the laser showed temporal output in the form of the
pulses [46]. Moreover, the laser offered a spectrum of discrete lines with equal spacing [5] in the
frequency domain. These lines formed a comb-like picture. Therefore, this spectrum was named
as Optical frequency comb (OFC).

Since 1964, there has been much research to generate optical frequency combs, especially in laser
spectroscopy. There have been many applications of optical frequency combs, e.g., these combs
have been used as a ruler to measure the optical frequencies [6,7]. This development of the OFCs
as a frequency ruler lead to the Nobel Prize in 2005 in physics for Hänsch and Hall. An optical
frequency comb makes a link from radio frequency to optical frequency. Atomic clocks, which are
used as frequency standards, work in the microwave region. With the help of an OFC, we can
bring the accuracy of these clocks to the optical region [8]. Thus, optical frequency combs can be
used as clocks. Recently, OFCs are finding many applications in the area of astronomy as Astro-
frequency combs as well.

Thus, the applications of OFCs have developed from meteorology [9] to spectrograph calibration
for exoplanet detections and passing to fundamental Physics [10]. However, for every application,
we require different characteristics of optical combs. In other words, attributes of combs like
spectral power per comb line, spacing between the comb lines are application dependent.
Figure(1.1) shows the applications of the optical frequency comb on a wheel. The left side of the
wheel represents the application that belongs to self-referenced combs [11]. Self-referenced combs
give higher precision and accuracy [12]. Applications on the right side of the wheel belong to the
combs having high repetition rates.

Figure.1.1 Application wheel [11] showing various applications requiring various characteristics of OFC

It is clear from figure (1.1) that optical communication requires combs with higher robustness,
simplicity to implement, and higher repetition rates [13]. These types of combs will be the center

1
of this thesis. The optical frequency combs having high repetition rates are less demanding in terms
of bandwidth, but they do require the capability to tune the central wavelength and frequency
spacing independently [55]. Furthermore, the frequency comb with a high repetition rate may not
be as broad as the self-referenced combs [14]. Therefore, it is required to develop methods that
will increase the broadening of high-referenced combs. This thesis will focus on diverse ways of
broad and flat comb's generation with tunable repetition rates.
Before diving into the rest of the work, the following section gives insight into the frequency
comb's generalities.

1.2 Time And Frequency Domain Description Of

Optical Frequency Combs:

In this section, the theoretical aspects of OFCs, along with their characteristics spectra, are
presented. Then the explanation proceeds with the theory of generation of combs.

A frequency comb is a laser source whose spectrum consists of equally spaced lines [11]. For the
source to be labeled as a frequency comb, it should follow the following characteristics [14]:

1. It should maintain a high coherence in its spectra across its entire bandwidth.
2. It should offer the possibility to synthesize the offset and frequency spacing between the
comb lines independently [14].

Consider a pulsed laser source, pulses with repetition rate c. All

the pulses will be having an envelope A(t). Then, the pulse train emitted by the laser can be written
as the sum of Dirac-delta functions as:

(1)

On taking the Fourier transform, we can write the above equation in the frequency domain as:

(2)
Where = Fourier transform of A(t)
c = carrier frequency

0 = carrier envelop offset frequency =

Where is the constant phase difference that is the difference in velocity of carrier and envelope.

2
 c. we will focus here only on the first term
c, which is the sum of direct delta functions having an envelope . The second
term is centered at - c, which doesn't have any significance.

Also, in equation (2), the 1st term will be non-zero for specific values of frequencies only given
by:
(3)
and are in the range of MHz to few tens of GHz. Since equation (3) links all the comb
frequencies with and , therefore comb frequencies can be known with greater accuracy.
Because of this reason, equation (3) proves to be of the utmost importance as it gives us a way to
measure the optical frequencies with precision which is not possible otherwise. Figure (1.2) shows
the temporal output of the laser and its frequency spectra.

Figure.1.2. Illustration of the temporal and spectral domain of a pulsed laser source [38]

Because of the dispersion and nonlinearities, the pulses generated by the pulsed laser source are
not identical. Had the pulses been similar, then the position of the comb lines would have been an
integral multiple of the laser repetition rate. Because of the constant shift of electric field
concerning envelope, there is carrier-envelope offset. And therefore, the position of the nth comb
line will be given by:
(4)

Where n
= frequency spacing of lines
= carrier-envelope offset
The carrier-envelope offset can be determined using self-referencing. In self-referencing, phases
of the frequency components spanned by octave from f-2f are beaten to define and lock CEO

3
frequency. Thus, it stabilizes frequency components which was the first parameter for the source
to be labeled as the frequency source [15,16].

The second requirement was the ability to tune the repetition rate or frequency spacing between
the comb lines. For the self-referenced combs, the ability to adjust the spacing between the combs
is quite tedious as it depends on the laser cavity's stabilization issue. Therefore, there is a need to
look for a different comb-generation method to facilitate this.

1.3 Mechanism of Comb Generation:

Frequency combs can be generated by:

1. Using Mode-locked lasers, [47-50]
2. Using Optical Microresonators [51-53],
3. Using Electro-optic modulators

In the frequency combs generated by mode-locked lasers and optical microresonators, It is difficult
to tune the frequency spacing between the comb lines, leading to a problem with the cavity's
stabilization. In this thesis, the frequency combs are generated using electro-optic modulators.
Combs developed through this method are the main focus of this thesis and are called electro-optic
(EO) combs. This section gives an idea about the working of the general optoelectronic frequency
comb generators. Figure (1.3) provides the general layout for the optical comb generation [14].

Figure 1.3. General Layout for electro-optic frequency Comb generators

A continuous-wave (CW) laser is sent to an Electro-optic modulator driven by an rf oscillator. At

the output, we obtain a comb structure in which central wavelength equals the optical wavelength
of CW laser and has frequency spacing equal to the frequency of the rf oscillator used.

The field of EO modulators has been researched since the 1960s [17]. This platform has been
popular because of its robustness, simplicity, and capability to tune the frequency spacing between
the combs.

4
 1.4 Problem Statement:

There are many advantages of optical frequency combs. These combs can give us many frequency
lines with higher accuracies and also offer a larger bandwidth. On the other hand, self-referenced
combs based on Mode-Locked Lasers (MLLs) operate at lower repetition rates(<10Ghz). As
shown in figure 1.1, for optical communication and RF photonics, there is no need for self-
referencing, but there is a need for independent tunning of frequency spacing and higher repetition
rates for such application.

Therefore, this project aims to find a suitable electro-optic modulator scheme to obtain higher
repetition rates, flat spectra, and enhanced bandwidth. Consequently, finding out the right driving
conditions for EO modulators to obtain flat spectra is needed. It can be problematic because even
the most straightforward case, viz Electro-Optic phase modulator, is inherently not linear, and
power per comb line is not the same.

1.5 Methodology Adapted:

The Flat frequency spectra can be obtained using two methods:

1.) By using a particular set of condition which is used to drive the EOM,
2.) By spectral broadening of the comb, which will reshape the spectrum.

In this project, we emphasize the first method. To obtain the frequency spectra from various
modulators, output field equations are written in the time domain. Then, we use a particular set of
conditions (biasing of the modulator, driving voltage, the shape of the RF signal) and implement
the field equations at EOM's output in MATLAB software to obtain the frequency combs. To get
the minimum power fluctuations in the comb lines, RF biasing parameters were changed. Those
parameters were noted, which gave the minimum power fluctuations per comb line and hence flat
comb spectra.
Note that for the second method, the reader can go to a review article [54] for the details of spectral
flattening.

1.6 Thesis Layout:

So far, we have given a brief introduction to optical frequency combs. In the following chapter 2,
the reader will understand the electro-optic effect, and the EO-modulators used to generate the
optical combs. Chapter 3 provides an insight into the generation of combs using various kinds of
EO modulators using the governing equations. The schemes are well explained, accompanied by
simulated results obtained by cascading modulators to get flat EOCs. Chapter 4 presents some
more techniques to obtain more comb lines by using some extravagant RF signals on the PM and
studies about sending two orthogonal polarisations at the modulators. Lastly, in chapter 5, the
Conclusion and future work has been presented.

5
 2. PRINCIPLE OF ELECTRO-OPTIC
MODULATORS (EOMS)
The previous chapter gives a basic idea about the optical frequency combs and the general
mechanism of electro-optic comb generators. This chapter will discuss the electro-optic effect in
detail, which is the backbone for all EOMs. After this, we will discuss the generation of combs
using various types of EO modulators.

2.1 Electro-optic Effect:

The electro-optic effect is also known as Pockel's effect. It is a non-linear phenomenon. Whenever
an electric field is applied to the crystal, there is a change in the crystal's refractive index. A change
in the refractive index causes a difference in the phase of the EM field propagating inside the
crystal. This effect appears only in non-centrosymmetric materials and is a second-order
phenomenon.
In the linear electro-optic effect, also known as Pockel's effect, the refractive index varies linearly
with the electric field [18].
However, there is another effect in which the material's refractive index varies proportionally to
the square of the electric field [19]. This effect is called the Kerr effect. This effect is a third-order
non-linear effect and can be present in any crystal. But, here in this chapter, we will focus only on
the linear Electro-optic effect.
Consider a non-centrosymmetric, anisotropic crystal that is non-optically active and is lossless.
Then, can be written in terms of its components as:

(5)

Where = vacuum permittivity

= permittivity tensor
= inverse tensor of
The equation for the index ellipsoid can be written in any co-ordinate system as:
(6)

where we can write = . Expanding in terms of the electric field by Taylor's expansion

(7)

Where r = electro-optic coefficient

Since is real and symmetric, rijk can be written as a 3× 6 tensor rbk, and thus variation in refractive
index can be written as:

6
 (8)

rbj are the electro-optic coefficients that will give the change in refractive index on the electric field
application.

2.2 Types Of Modulators:

In this section, we will present the theory about the various kinds of modulators. These all
modulators are based on the electro-optic effect, which modifies the phase of the incident light.

2.2.1 Phase Modulator:

Consider a KDP crystal, Potassium dihydrogen phosphate, having crystal axis as x, y, z. When an
electric field is applied to the crystal along Z-axis, the crystal axis will be modified to x', y', z'.
New Refractive indices will be given as:
, (9)
Where n0 = ordinary refractive index
Consider an incident CW is traveling along the Z-axis and has linear polarisation along the x' or y'
axis. A phase difference will be induced due to the electro-optic effect. Let us consider that the
incident light is linearly polarised along y' axis, then phase induced can be written as:
(10)
L= crystal length
V=EzL
This phase will be added to the phase of the incident light, and hence phase of the incident
light is phase modulated. Also, equation (10) is commonly written as:
, with (11)
Also, It is called a modulation constant.
Here, V is the half-wave voltage and is defined as the voltage required to induce For
the crystal used here, KDP, various parameters are as follow:

r63 = 10.5 pm.V-1,

n0 =1.514 at 546.1 nm,
using equation (11), we get V =15kV

The above-explained standard EO Phase modulator has some cons such as:

1. Poor performance
2. High V voltages (~kV), not suitable for embedded systems

Therefore, it is essential to look for modulators that can give low values of V . From equation (11),
it is clear that for low values of V , the materials should have higher values of electro-optic
coefficient. Also, by using a transverse static field in place of longitudinal field, the voltage V can

7
be given as V=Ex.h, where h is the height of the modulator and is less than the length of the crystal,
hence results in lowering the V to (~tens of Volts).
Therefore, other architectures were studied, and it was found that we can have better EOM
characteristics by relying on interferometers. The basics idea is to introduce EO material within
the interferometer [20,21].
This architecture is called Mach-Zehnder Interferometer and allows us to replace the output
polarizer present in the intensity modulator by interference-effect [38]. Such an EOM is called
Mach-Zehnder Modulator (MZM).

2.2.2 Mach-Zehnder Modulator:

An MZM structure contains a waveguide printed on EO material with a suitable cut along its
crystallographic axes. There is a Y-junction at the input on the waveguide. Both arms of MZM are
provided with electrodes. These electrodes can be used to apply the RF signal and dc bias voltages
independently. These Bias voltages help in achieving the particular point of modulation of the
EOM. For example, biasing at V /2 will set the modulator (MZM) at the quadrature point.

There are two types of MZM depending on whether the two arms of MZM are subjected to the
same or different set of electrodes.
1. Single drive MZM: Same voltage is applied on both arms
2. Dual-drive MZM (DDMZM): different voltages are used on the arms of MZMs
Figure (2.1) shows the single drive and the dual-drive MZM architecture.
At the output end, both arms are joined with another Y-junction, which causes the interference
effect.

Figure 2.1. Schematic illustration of the (a)single drive MZM (b) dual-drive MZM [38]

In the case of single drive MZM, the phases applied on the arms of the modulator can have the
same or opposite sign depending on how the electrodes are set. When the phase applied on both
the arms of MZM is of the same sign, then MZM is said to work in push-push mode and acts as a
Phase modulator (PM), and if the applied phases on the arms of MZM have opposite signs, then it
is said to work in push-pull mode and acts as an Intensity modulator (IM).

8
 3. Comb generation using EOM

So far, the reader might have got an idea of the working principle of modulators. This chapter will
look at the theory of generation of electro-optic combs and present the simulated spectral output
wherever necessary, showing the number of lines and flatness of EO combs.

3.1 Phase Modulator:

Consider a continuous-wave c and amplitude A, is sent
through the PM as shown in figure (3.1), driven by an RF m. The electric
field will be given as
(12)
At the output of the modulator, the electric field will acquire a phase and the output
field equation can be written as:
(13)
On taking the Fourier transform of the above equation:

(14)

Figure 3.1 Schematic showing Phase modulator (PM) for KV 0 = 10 [38]

It is very clear from equation (14) that the spectrum consists of series of optical frequency comb
lines, where comb frequencies are given as:
with (15)
A simulated output for the phase modulator for equation (13) is shown in figure (3.3) for KV0 =
10. It can be inferred from the simulated result that the comb lines obtained from the phase
modulator are not flat. The amplitude of the optical comb lines depends on the Bessel function Jn
(from equation (14)). The first four Bessel functions are shown in figure (3.2). The number of
comb lines, amplitude, flatness are controlled by modulation constant K and the peak voltage V0.

9
 Figure 3.2. Simulated plot showing first four Bessel functions of the first kind

Figure 3.3. Simulated spectral output for PM for values KV 0 = 2.4048 and KV0 = 10 respectively

10
Also, it is evident from the simulated outputs that the number of comb lines increases with an
increase in the value of the phase modulation index (K). This is because the amplitude of comb
lines has Bessel function dependence with KV0 as an argument. As Bessel function J0 is zero at
2.4048, amplitude falls to zero at KV0=2.4048, and the carrier frequency is suppressed for KV0=
2.4048.

3.2 Mach-Zehnder Modulator:

It is clear from the previous section that spectral flatness is very poor with a single-phase
modulator. This is because the amplitude of the comb lines follows Bessel function dependences
on drive voltages. If the drive voltages are enormous, then line-to-line variations can be more.
Therefore, it requires to generate the combs with the Mach-Zehnder modulator, which offers bias
voltage as an extra degree of freedom. With the proper adjustment of the bias voltage, the power
variation within the comb line can be reduced to a great extent.
To generate combs through MZM, the upper arm of the MZM is driven with V1= V0,1 mt),
and the lower arm is driven with V2(t)=V0,2 mt) as shown in figure (3.4). The time-domain
output of the modulator can be written as:

(16)

Where K1 = modulation index of the arm 1,

K2 = modulation index of the arm 2,
Vb,1 = bias voltage applied on the arm 1,
Vb,2 = bias voltage applied on the arm 2,
Dc bias2,
RF1
Vb,2 E1(t)

E0(t)

E2(t)

Dc bias1,

RF2 Vb,1

Figure3.4. Configuration showing Dual drive Mach-Zehnder Modulator (DDMZM)

On taking the Fourier transform of the equation (16), output in the frequency domain can be written
as:

(17)

11
In Dual-Drive-MZM (DDMZM), there is an extra degree of freedom called bias voltage compared
to the phase modulator, enabling more flattening in the comb spectra than in the previous case.
The same can be seen in figure (3.5), the simulated output for two different sets of bias conditions
for DDMZM.

Figure 3.5. Simulated spectral output for DDMZM for two different sets of biasing conditions

By adjusting the bias voltages applied on the arms of MZM, suitable driving conditions can be
achieved that can provide eight comb lines within a 1.6dB power variation.
Nowadays, there are EOMs present commercially, and conventionally that can produce repetition
frequencies typically around 40GHz. Thus, EOCs can cover almost all repetition frequencies given
by other comb sources except repetition frequencies provided by optical microresonators. Optical
microresonators can go to repetition frequencies up to 100GHz.

12
Thus, EOMs are limited by bandwidth. But they offer the ability to tune the line spacing of the
EOCs as shown below:
If the IM is biased at voltage Vb=V /2, then using equation (17), the optical spectrum can be written
as:
(18)
EOCs thus generated will have a repetition frequency of And only the comb lines having
odd-order modes will get generated. The simulated output is shown in figure (3.6)for value
KV0=10. With a value KV0 equal to 10, we will have RF power of 30dbm.
If the IM is biased at a voltage equal to the null point, then the field equation in the frequency
domain can be written as:
(19)

Then, the generated EOCs will have a repetition frequency of and only even order comb lines
will be generated. It can also be seen in the simulated output, as shown in figure (3.7).

Figure 3.6. Simulated output generated with MZM in a push-pull configuration with
KV0=10 (rf power=30dbm) having odd-order comb lines

13
 Figure 3.7. Simulated output generated with MZM in a push-pull configuration with KV0=10(rf
power=30dbm) having even-order comb lines

Thus we can change the repetition frequency of EOCs by simply changing the bias voltage of the
modulator [22,23].

3.3 Cascade of modulators:

In the above EOM setups, only one modulator is used. However, using only one EOM will not
generate wide repetition rates as high RF values will be required to create wide repetition rates,
resulting in damaging the setup. Because of this reason, the number of lines obtained using the
above designs is limited. Therefore, it requires cascading of different modulators. Cascading of
modulators will increase the number of lines by a factor equal to the number of EOMs used.
The number of lines generated by N EOMs at driving voltage V0 will be similar to the number of
lines generated through a single EOM at driving voltage NV0.
The following part will focus on various setups of cascaded modulators, which have been proposed
to generate flatter combs.

Flat-top frequency comb generators:

3.3.1 Cascade of IM and PM:

The flat-shaped frequency comb is usually required in the optical arbitrary waveform generation
and optical communication. This section will illustrate a scheme that can efficiently produce a flat-
shaped comb-over large bandwidths. Figure (3.8) shows the method for generating the flat comb
using a cascade of the intensity-phase modulator.

14
 Figure 3.8. Scheme illustrating the cascade of the intensity and Phase modulator
for the generation of the flat-top shaped combs [14]

Fujiwara et al. developed a top-high frequency comb in 2003 using a cascade of intensity and
phase modulator [24]. This method will be used to produce high-rep rate combs in the next section
as well. The idea was that the IM would carve out a train of pseudo square pulses from the CW
input laser. The PM will give a quadratic phase on each pulse. The pulses are carved at the instant
time when the chirp imparted by the PM is linear. This principle is used to generate the flat-top
combs.
For a better understanding of the concept, the work done by Torres-Company and coworkers [25]
is reproduced. The architecture uses an IM driven by a sinusoid voltage at Vdc=V /2 of the
modulator. IM is biased such that it gives a phase shift as shown in Figure (3.8).

The field at the output of the IM will be given as:

(20)

Substituting , we have

(21)

Field equation at the output of the PM will be:

(22)

Simulated outputs for this equation are shown below in figure (3.9).

15
 Figure 3.9. Simulated output for the cascaded intensity and phase modulator with the y-axis
having normalized power and the x-axis having a frequency for KV0=10; RF power=30dbm

From the above figure (3.9), it is clear that there is a flat section at the center, but there are some
significant bat-ear-like structures at the extremas. It can be understood by looking at the figure
given below:

Figure3.10. Plot showing time-domain signal after 1 IM ( blue), 2 IM(green), and

the temporal phase added by the PM(red)

As shown in the above figure, the time-domain signal is very flat in the central part, and the phase
is also similar to quadratic. Therefore there is a good spectral flatness in the central region. At the
extremas, there are bat-ears. The instantaneous frequency, which is the time derivative of phase,
stays for a relatively long time [26]. So, OFC is having a flat section at the center but not at the
extermas.

16
To obtain the flat optical frequency combs, we need:
1. A flat-topped pulse
2. A good quadratic phase so that instantaneous frequency would be linear at extremas

We need to modify the above setup shown in figure (3.8), incorporating the above two
modifications.
Accordingly, to incorporate the first modification, i.e., to obtain a flat-topped pulse, we use two
IM instead of one. It will reduce the fraction of time for which the time domain signal will see the
departure from the quadratic phase. The same parameters will drive both IM. It can be seen from
figure (3.10) that with two IMs, the time-domain signal becomes a sharper waveform.

To incorporate the second modification, i.e., to eradicate the bat-ears, we try to generate a phase
profile that will better approximate to quadratic. Therefore, we expand the cosine to the first
undesired term i.e :

(23)

From equation (23), it is clear that the use of 1st and 2nd harmonic with a suitable ratio and phase
shifter can get rid of the first undesired term. Higher-order terms are less of concern because of
the cascade of the two IMs. The Cascade of the two IMs will give a waveform that will be having
sharper decay. Therefore, higher-order terms will not be an issue in the region of the flat-topped
pulse.

A scheme incorporating the above two mentioned modifications is shown in figure (3.11).

In this scheme, an attenuator is used to fix the ratio between the first and second harmonic
(~(1/16)^2~24dB). In addition, two tunable Phase shifters are used; one tunable RF phase shifter
ensures that the first and second harmonics are 1800 out of phase, and the second tunable RF phase
shifter ensures the timing match between the different components. Figure (3.12) shows the
simulated output for this scheme.
It is clear that now we obtain better flat spectra without any bat ears. Moreover, for better power
handling, two-phase modulators are cascaded in series driven with the same parameters [27].

17
 Figure.3.11. Scheme for generation of OFC incorporating above mentioned modification [14]

Figure.3.12. Simulated output spectra for the scheme mentioned above (a) for value KV0 = 10 with One
PM (b) for value KV0 =10 with two PMs; rf power=30dbm

18
 3.3.2 Cascade of DPMZM and PM:

In the previous section, we saw that a series combination of two IMs and PM could give us flat
spectra. Here we will explore the parallel combination of two IMs and then look at the output of
these IMs output with PM. But before studying the case of the cascade of dual-parallel Mach-
Zehnder and phase modulator, let's first see the comb generation using the dual-parallel Mach-
Zehnder modulator (DPMZM) only.

Dual-Parallel Mach-Zehnder Modulator (DPMZM):

The schematic used for the generation of OFC using a DPMZM is shown in figure (3.13) [28,29].

Figure 3.13. Schematic showing dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder (DPMZM) structure

DPMZM consists of two child MZMs embedded in its two arms and a phase modulator. A phase
modulator is used to adjust the phase optical phase difference between the two MZMs embedded
in its components.
A CW laser is sent through the DPMZM structure. Only one RF signal having a frequency f and
voltage amplitude V0 is applied on the MZM1, and both the child MZMs are configured in the
Push-Pull configuration.
The output field equation for this DPMZM is given as:

(24)

Where Ein = input field

V = half-wave voltage of the modulators
VDC1, VDC2, VDC3 = DC bias voltages applied to MZM1, MZM2, and phase modulators.

19
Equation (24) can be written using Jacobi-Anger expansion as:

Where ,

If the above seven components have to have equal amplitude, then the following condition must
be satisfied:

After the mathematical analysis, the following driving conditions can be calculated to get flat comb
spectra.
V0= 1.94V
Vdc1/V =0.63; Vdc2 /V =1.24, Vdc3 /V =1.2
Where V = 3.5V; rf power used=15.8dbm
The simulated output for these driving conditions is shown in figure (3.14).

Figure.3.14. Simulated output for the DPMZM with the suitable driving conditions

20
Although the flatness achieved is very good, but the number of comb lines limits the above scheme.
Therefore, a method that can give more comb lines is proposed. A schematic setup of the system
is shown in figure (3.15).

Figure 3.15. Schematic representation of the principle of flat-to compressed pulse with DPMZM [40]

The series combination of IM and PM requires a flat-topped pulse and linearly chirped optical
pulse for flat combs [30]. However, the quasi-quadratic phase signal makes the system complex
and compromises its ability to widen the frequency spacing. Therefore, a method where phase
signal can be used as a simple sinusoid that maintains the system simplicity is proposed.

Figure3.16. Schematic used for comb generation with the cascade of DPMZM and PM [40]

In this method, DPMZM is used to produce flat-topped pulses, and a simple sinusoidal signal at
the Phase modulator is fed, unlike the cascading of two IM and PM where a quadratic phase at the

21
PM is required. Incident light will be divided by the splitter at the input of the DPMZM. The upper
arm, i.e., sub MZM1 of the DPMZM, is driven by an RF signal VRF1 rf1t), and sub MZM2 is
driven by VRF2 rf2t) with a doubled frequency. A phase shifter (PS) is used to control the phase
between MZM1 and MZM2. The output of these MZMs is combined at the output of DPMZM
with proper phase control. The field equation can be written as:

(25)

Where

Here, , are the phase introduced by the MZM1 and MZM2, respectively and is the phase
difference between the two MZMs that can be controlled externally by DC3 bias.
Vdc1, Vdc2 = DC bias voltages of the MZM1 and MZM2, respectively.

MZM1 is biased at the quadrature point with a DC bias equal to V /2, and MZM2 is biased at V /5.
Therefore, the value of Vdc3 is adjusted so that the output of MZM1 and MZM2 is out of the phase.
This process of canceling the sidelobes generates a flat-topped pulse at the output of DPMZM. As
a result, the output pulse of the DPMZM is reduced than the signal obtained in the cascade of IM
and PM. A comparison of the output pulses received using DPMZM and cascade of IM and PM
[30] is shown in figure (3.17).

Figure.3.17. simulated plot for the comparison of intensity-modulated output and instantaneous
the frequency between a cascade of IM_PM and DPMZM_PM methods

22
The pulse width of the signal after DPMZM is reduced, as shown in figure (3.17) (magenta plot).
Therefore, for giving a linear chirp, a simple sinusoid signal should be enough, unlike in the
series combination of the two intensity modulators (red curve), where a quasi-quadratic signal
was required.

The simulated output for the above scheme with driving conditions is shown in figure (3.18).
Vdc1=7/5V , Vdc2=1 V ;
Vrf1=1/2 V , Vrf2=1/5 V ;

Figure3.18. Simulated output spectra for the proposed scheme having a cascade of
DPMZM and PM with suitable biasing conditions.

It can be observed from figure (3.18) that the number of lines is more as compared to the case of
a cascaded IM and PM modulator. This is because the narrow pulse obtained after the DPMZM
allows the facility to provide linear chirp using a simple sinusoid.

23
 4. NOVEL SCHEMES FOR THE GENERATION
OF FLAT OFC

It can be seen from the previous study that the cascaded architecture of DPMZM and PM gives 42
comb lines where the signal applied on the phase modulator is a simple sinusoid. This reduces the
complexity of phase shifters for phase matching of the fundamental and second harmonic in the
cascaded setup of IM and PM modulators. In this upcoming section, I will try to optimize the RF
signal to get more comb lines.

4.1 Cascade of IM and PM with the different signal applied on PM:

So far, it is evident that applying a linear chirp on the flat-topped pulse will yield the flat comb
spectra. Keeping this idea in mind, in this section, I will explore a scheme that consists of a cascade
of IM and PM. But instead of giving a quasi-quadratic signal, I will apply a signal on the PM,
which combines sinc and cosine signal. This scheme will use two IM which will carve out the flat-
topped pulse from the incident light.

Figure 4.1 Simulated output for two IM and PM; PM is driven by a signal that
combines cosine and sinc.

The signal at the output of the IM is:

(26)

Expanding cosine signal:

24
To eliminate the term:

(27)

equation (27) represents the signal that is applied to the phase modulator. The Time-domain plot
for this scheme is given in figure (4.2).

Figure.4.2. Time-domain plot showing the field at the output of the IM and phase
applied by the PM

Although the signal applied on the phase modulator is complicated, this scheme gives more
significant comb lines than the scheme that incorporates the PM's quasi-quadratic phase.

25
 4.2 Using Dual-Polarisation in DDMZM:

The Systematic representation of this scheme is given in following figure 4.3.

In this scheme, we send two orthogonal polarisations along the two arms of the DDMZM. Incident
CW light is split into different polarization states using a Polarization beam splitter (PBS). It
divides the input light into two orthogonal polarizations , and as shown in Figure 4.3. These
two polarizations are passed through two IMs and are combined at the output of DDMZM using a
Polarisation beam combiner (PBC). This combined output is then sent through the phase
modulator, which is driven using an RF oscillator.
The Transfer matrix for the DDMZM can be written as :

Considering , we have

Thus electric field, after it has passed through the arms of DDMZM with different polarizations
and combined, is given as:

(28)

Where

26
 Figure.4.3. schematic showing dual-polarisation through DDMZM and its simulated
spectra for KV0=10; rf power used=30dbm

Note that this scheme can generate the comb lines with higher power using low-power RF signals,
as after two polarizations are combined using PBC, there is an increase in the power by 3 dB.

27
 5. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
5.1 Brief Summary:
The work concludes efficient ways of generating flat OFCs as required for optical communication
applications.
In this work, various schemes for the generation of OFCs using EO modulators with their suitable
driving conditions have been presented. All the simulation results obtained for multiple EO
modulators driven with different RF signals are tabulated in table (1) for comparison and better
understanding. In addition, the study is briefed with the governing equation for each modulator.
Finally, the work has been simulated in MATLAB software.

Modulator Used Value of Number of lines Flatness(dB)

Parameters
Intensity-intensity KV0= 10 19 Within <1dB power
Phase modulator Variations
Two intensity and KV0= 10 37 Within <1dB power
Two phase Variations
modulators
DPMZM KV0= 10 7 No power variation
Cascade of DPMZM KV0= 10 42 Within <1dB power
And Phase modulator Variations

Cascade of IM and KV0= 10 43 Within <1dB power

PM with rf having a Variations
combination of cosine
and sinc

Dual polarization KV0= 10 18 Within 1dB power

in DDMZM Variations

Table 1: Conclusion table showing the number of comb lines and flatness obtained using different types of
schemes

This thesis focuses on generating the optical frequency comb with a high repetition rate using the
various optoelectronic generators, specifically electro-optic modulators. This type of platform can
provide simplicity, robustness and is better than any other comb source. Also, independent tuning
of the central wavelength and the frequency spacing is readily available, making it suitable for

28
ultra-broadband radio-frequency photonics. This field includes any potential application offered
by MW(microwave) engineering in its state-of-art photonics technology. These high-rep OFC can
be used in RF processing, AWG( arbitrary waveform generation), THz wireless communications,
and optical communications.

5.2 Future Outlook:

Although EOCs have many benefits, still its electro-optic components can be improved to enhance
their characteristics. There is still room for techniques that can advance its spectral broadness.
Recently it has been observed that with MZMs, greater bandwidths(>70GHz) can be achieved
using a particular and suitable set of biasing conditions. With these MZMs, one can easily reach
100GHz [31-33]. Also, It has been observed that PM can offer a response up to 500 GHz [34] with
suitable designs. All these improvements can make way for EO generators that can have frequency
spacing which is, at present, possible only with the microresonators.
EOMs are usually available of Lithium niobate material, which can be problematic for integrated
systems because of more considerable device length (in the range of cms) and high driving voltages
(till 10V) challenging to get integrated into the CMOS chips [33]. Therefore, EOMs can be
improved by looking for materials that will have higher electro-optic coefficients. For example,
we can reach 100Gb/s modulation data rates using silicon hybrid technology(SOH) [35].
The bandwidth of EOMs should also be enhanced by using new techniques. The use of on-chip
nanostructures like nano-mechanical photonic waveguides showed that the EOCs spectrum could
be broadened in a way other than accumulating EOMs [36].
EOCs can be used for new applications, for example, non-linear spectroscopy, because EOCs can
have higher power per comb line, and the proof is demonstrated in Ref. [37].

29
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33
 APPENDIX
MATLAB Codes for Generation of OFCs based on EOMs
1. PHASE MODULATOR:

% PM combs with carrier

clc
clear all
close all
fm=10e9; % RF signal frequency in 10 GHz
fm=fm/1e9 ; %scaling of time axis in microsec
fc=193e12; % RF signal frequency in 193 THz
fc=fc/1e9; %scaling of frequency
fs = 25*fc; % sampling frequency
t=linspace(0,1,fs); % time vector

Em = exp(i*2*pi*fm*t); %rf equation

Ec=exp(i*2*pi*fc*t);
figure();
plot(t,real(Em))
xlabel('time scale in nanosec')
ylabel('Amplitude')
title('RF signal 10 GHz')
figure();
plot(t,real(Ec))
xlabel('time scale in nanosec')
ylabel('Amplitude')
title('Carrier signal GHz')
xlim([0 1e-4])
% %------------PM----------------
kv=10; %modulation indexde
Epm = Ec.*exp(i*(kv*sin(2*pi*fm*t))); %rf signal
Epm_real=real(Epm);
A = [real(Em); real(Ec)];
n = length(Em);
%definnig frequency axis
frequency = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
E_F = fft(A,[],2); %FFT of Em and Ec
Y = fftshift(E_F,2); %FFT shift of Em,Ec
%
figure();
plot(frequency,real(Y(1,:)),frequency,real(Y(2,:))) %%FFT plot of individual signals
legend('RF signal at 10 GHz','optical s/g 193 THz')
xlabel('Frequency in GHz')
ylabel('Power')
title('FFT of individual signals')
%FFT of PM with fft shift
EoutF=fft(Epm_real,n); %FFT of Epm
Y1=fftshift(EoutF); %FFT shift of Epm
Y1=Y1.*conj(Y1);
Y1=Y1/max(Y1); %normalized to 1
figure();
plot(frequency,10*log10(Y1)) %% FFT plot of Intensity modulator
xlabel('Frequency in GHz')

34
ylabel('Power')
title('FFT of o/p at PM ')
ylim([-35 2])
xlim([1.928e5 1.932e5])
% shifting frequency to no of comb lines
figure();
plot(2*pi*(frequency-1.93e5)/1e2,10*log10(Y1)) %% FFT plot of Intensity modulator

xlabel('Detuning frequency (in units of wm)')

ylabel('Power')
title('FFT of o/p at PM ')
ylim([-35 0])
xlim([-15 15])

2. CASCADE OF INTENSITY AND PHASE MODULATORS:

clc
clear all
close all
f_rf=10e9; % RF signal frequency in 10 GHz
f_rf=f_rf/1e9; %scaling of time axis in microsec
fc=193e12; % RF signal frequency in 200 THz
fc=fc/1e9; %scaling of frequency
fs = 1e6; % sampling frequency
t=linspace(-0.5,0.5,fs); % time vector?
%%%%--------------defining parameters -------------%%%
V_dc= -1; % Biased voltages
V_pi_0= 2;
V_rf= 2.5;
V_pi_w= 5;
phi_dc=pi*V_dc/V_pi_0;
phi_rf=pi*V_rf/V_pi_w;
Em_1= (1+ exp(i*(((V_dc/V_pi_0)*pi)+((V_rf/V_pi_w)*pi)*cos(2*pi*f_rf*t)))); % signal after 1st IM
Ec = exp(i*2*pi*f_rf*t);
%---------------- New Modification for quadratic phase-------%%%
E_IM2= Em_1.*(1+ exp(i*(((V_dc/V_pi_0)*pi)+((V_rf/V_pi_w)*pi)*cos(2*pi*f_rf*t))));% two Cascaded IMs
E_PM = exp(i*(10*(cos(2*pi*f_rf*t)-(0.0625*cos(4*pi*f_rf*t))))); % Phase modulation with quadratic phase
Eout_0= E_IM2.*E_PM.*E_PM; % Cascading of Two IM and two PM
% % fft part for Eout_0
n = length(Em_1);
%FFT of PM with fft shift
EoutF_1= fft(Eout_0,n); %FFT of Eout
Y1=fftshift(EoutF_1); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/n;
ps = max(powershift_0);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift0_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n));
figure(1);
plot(fshift/10,10*log10(powershift_0)); %% FFT plot of Intensity modulator
xlabel('Line Number');
ylabel('Power dBm(normalised)');
ylim([-30 1])
xlim([-30 30])
%title('FFT of frequency comb Phase Modulator');

35
 figure(2);
plot(t,E_PM)
figure(3);
plot(t,10*log10(powershift_0))
figure(3);
plot(t,abs(E_IM2/max(E_IM2)));
%xlim([-0.03,0.03])
figure(4);
plot(t,abs(Em_1/max(Em_1))); % after 1st intensity modulator

3. CASCADE OF DPMZM AND PHASE MODULATOR:

% DPMZM with PM
clc
clear all
close all
f_rf=10e9; % RF signal frequency in 30 GHz
f_rf=f_rf/1e9; %scaling of time axis in microsec
fs = 1e6; % sampling frequency
t=linspace(-0.5,0.5,fs); % time vector?
%%%%--------------defining parameters -------------%%%
rf_signal=cos(2*pi*f_rf*t);
Vdc1=7/5; % in units of V_pi
Vdc2=1; % in units of V_pi
Vrf1=1/2; % in units of V_pi
Vrf2=1/5; % in units of V_pi
phia=pi*(Vdc1+Vrf1*cos(2*pi*f_rf*t));
phib= pi*(Vdc2+Vrf2*cos(4*pi*f_rf*t)); % double frequency at lower mzm
phic=-0.78;
% to see output after each mzm
E1=(1+exp(1i*phia));
E2=(1+exp(1i*phib));
% output after dpmzm $$$$
E_dpmzm=(1+exp(1i*phia))+((1+exp(1i*phib)).*exp(-0.78));

Eout_0 = E_dpmzm.*exp(i*(10*(cos(2*pi*f_rf*t)))).*exp(i*(10*(cos(2*pi*f_rf*t)))); % Phase modulation with

output of E_dpmzm

% % fft part for Eout_0

n = length(rf_signal);
%FFT of PM with fft shift
EoutF_1= fft(Eout_0,n); %FFT of Eout PM
Y1=fftshift(EoutF_1); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/n;
ps = max(powershift_0);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift0_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n));
wavelength= 3e8./fshift;
figure(1);
plot(fshift/10,10*log10(powershift_0)); %% FFT plot of Itensity modulator
xlabel('Line Number');
ylabel('Power dBm(normalised)');
ylim([-30 0])

36
%xlim([-30 30])
title('Combs with DPMZM\_PM ; Quadratic phase on PM');
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%fft plot after 1st mzm
E_out1=fft(E1,n);
Y_1=fftshift(E_out1); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_1 = abs(Y_1).^2/n;
ps1 = max(powershift_1);
powershift_1 = abs(Y_1).^2/(ps1*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift1_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y_1).^2/(ps1*n));
wavelength1= 3e8./fshift;
figure(2);
subplot(3,1,1);
plot(fshift/10,10*log10(powershift_1));
ylim([-30 0])
%%%%%AFTER MZM2%%%%
E_out2=fft(E2,n);
Y_2=fftshift(E_out2); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_2 = abs(Y_2).^2/n;
ps2 = max(powershift_2);
powershift_2 = abs(Y_2).^2/(ps2*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift1_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y_2).^2/(ps2*n));
wavelength1= 3e8./fshift;
subplot(3,1,2);
plot(fshift/10,10*log10(powershift_2));
ylim([-30 0])
%%%%%%AFTER #####dpmzm#####
E_out3=fft(E_dpmzm,n);
Y_3=fftshift(E_out3); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_3 = abs(Y_3).^2/n;
ps3 = max(powershift_3);
powershift_3 = abs(Y_3).^2/(ps3*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift1_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y_3).^2/(ps3*n));
wavelength1= 3e8./fshift;
subplot(3,1,3);
plot(fshift/10,10*log10(powershift_3));
ylim([-30 0])
figure(3);
subplot(3,1,1);
plot(t,E1);
subplot(3,1,2);
plot(t,E2);
ylim([0,2]);
subplot(3,1,3);
plot(t,E_dpmzm);
% code for the IM_IM_PM
V_dc= -1; % Biased voltages
V_pi_0= 2;

37
V_rf= 2.5;
V_pi_w= 5;
phi_dc=pi*V_dc/V_pi_0;
phi_rf=pi*V_rf/V_pi_w;
Em_1= (1+ exp(i*(((V_dc/V_pi_0)*pi)+((V_rf/V_pi_w)*pi)*cos(2*pi*f_rf*t))));
%Ec = exp(i*2*pi*f_rf*t); %optical carrier
Ec = exp(i*2*pi*f_rf*t);
%---------------- New Modification for quadratic phase-------%%%
E_IM2= Em_1.*(1+ exp(i*(((V_dc/V_pi_0)*pi)+((V_rf/V_pi_w)*pi)*cos(2*pi*f_rf*t))));
% two Cascaded IMs
E_PM = exp(i*(10*(cos(2*pi*f_rf*t)-(0.0625*cos(4*pi*f_rf*t))))); % Phase modulation with quadratic phase
Eout_0= E_IM2.*E_PM; % Cascading of Two IM and one PM
% % fft part for Eout_0
n = length(Em_1);
%FFT of PM with fft shift
EoutF_1= fft(Eout_0,n); %FFT of Eout PM
Y1=fftshift(EoutF_1); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/n;
ps = max(powershift_0);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift0_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n));
wavelength= 3e8./fshift;
figure(4);
plot(t,abs(E_IM2/max(E_IM2)),'r');
hold on
plot(t,abs(E_dpmzm/max(E_dpmzm)),'m');
hold on
plot(t,abs(Em_1/max(Em_1)));
xlim([-0.04 0.04])
hold off
figure(5);
plot(t,Eout_0.*conj(Eout_0))
4. CASCADE OF IM AND PM (RF ON PM: COMBINATION OF COSINE AND SINC):
% combs with carrier
clc
clear all
close all
f_rf=10e9; % RF signal frequency in 30 GHz
f_rf=f_rf/1e9; %scaling of time axis in microsec
fc=193e12; % RF signal frequency in 200 THz
fc=fc/1e9; %scaling of frequency
fs = 1e6; % sampling frequency
t=linspace(-0.5,0.5,fs); % time vector

Em = exp(1i*2*pi*f_rf*t); %rf equation

Ec=exp(1i*2*pi*fc*t);
V_dc= -1; % Biased voltages
V_pi_0= 2;
V_rf= 2.5;
V_pi_w= 5;
phi_dc=pi*V_dc/V_pi_0;
phi_rf=pi*V_rf/V_pi_w;

38
 % %------------PM----------------
kv=10; %modulation index
EIm1 = (-1+ exp(1i*(((V_dc/V_pi_0)*pi)+((V_rf/V_pi_w)*pi).*real(Em))));
EIm2 = EIm1.*(-1+ exp(1i*(((V_dc/V_pi_0)*pi)+((V_rf/V_pi_w)*pi).*real(Em))));
E_PM = exp(1i*(10*(cos(2*pi*f_rf*t)-(0.3125)*sinc(2*pi*f_rf.*t)))); % combination of cosine and sinc
Eout_0=EIm2.*E_PM.*E_PM;
n = length(EIm1);
%FFT of PM with fft shift
EoutF_1= fft(Eout_0,n); %FFT of Eout PM
Y1=fftshift(EoutF_1); %FFT shift of Eout
%definnig frequency axis
fshift = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range
%fshift = (0:n-1);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/n;
ps = max(powershift_0);
powershift_0 = abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n); %norm_powershift_1
powershift0_dBm= 10*log(abs(Y1).^2/(ps*n));
wavelength= 3e8./fshift;
figure(4);
plot(fshift/10,10*log10(powershift_0)); %% FFT plot of Itensity modulator
xlabel('Line Number');
ylabel('Power dBm(normalised)');
ylim([-15 0])
xlim([-30 30])
%title('FFT of frequency comb Phase Modulator');
5. CODE FOR SENDING TWO ORTHOGONAL POLAZRISATION THROUGH DDMZM :

clc;
clear all;
close all
fm=10e9; % RF signal frequency in 30 GHz
fm=fm/1e9; %scaling of time axis in microsec
fc=193e12; % RF signal frequency in 193 THz
fc=fc/1e9; %scaling of frequency
fs = 25*fc; % sampling frequency
t=linspace(0,1,fs); % time vector
Em = exp(1i*2*pi*fm*t); %rf equation
Ec=exp(1i*2*pi*fc*t); % carrier
pi=3.14;
V_dc= -1; % Biased voltages
V_pi_0= 2;
V_rf= 2.5;
V_pi_w= 5;
phi_dc=pi*V_dc/V_pi_0;
phi_rf=pi*V_rf/V_pi_w;
phi=phi_dc+phi_rf*real(Em);
E1=exp(1i*(phi/2)); % along x polarization
E2=exp(-1i*(phi/2)); % y polarization
E=E1+E2;
E_PM = exp(i*(10*(cos(2*pi*fm*t)-(0.0625*cos(4*pi*fm*t))))); %output sent through PM
Eout_0=E.*E_PM; % cascade with PM
n = length(Em);
%definnig frequency axis
frequency = (-n/2:n/2-1); % zero-centered frequency range

39
EoutF=fft(E1,n);
Y1=fftshift(EoutF); %FFT shift of x-polarized field
Y1=Y1.*conj(Y1);
Y1=Y1/max(Y1); %normalized to 1
figure();
plot(2*pi*(frequency-1.93e5)/1e2+12120,10*log10(Y1)) %% FFT plot of x-polarization
xlim([-20 20])
xlabel('Detuning frequency (in units of wm)')
ylabel('Power dBm')
title('FFT of o/p at DDMZM ')
%ylim([-35 0])
%xlim([-20/1e4 20/1e4])
figure();
EoutF=fft(E2,n);
Y2=fftshift(EoutF); %FFT shift of y-polarized field
Y2=Y2.*conj(Y2);
Y2=Y2/max(Y2);
plot(2*pi*(frequency-1.93e5)/1e2+12120,10*log10(Y2),'r') %% FFT plot of y-polarized
xlim([-20 20])
figure();
EoutF=fft(Eout_0,n);
Y2=fftshift(EoutF); %FFT shift of total field
Y2=Y2.*conj(Y2);
Y2=Y2/max(Y2);
plot(2*pi*(frequency-1.93e5)/1e2+12120,10*log10(Y2),'m') %% FFT plot of total field
xlim([-20 20])
ylim([-30 0])
xlabel('Detuning frequency (in units of wm)')
ylabel('Power dBm')

40