Versatile silicon microwave photonic spectral shaper

Abstract

Optical modulation plays arguably the utmost important role in microwave photonic (MWP) systems. Precise synthesis of modulated optical spectra dictates virtually all aspects of MWP system quality including loss, noise figure, linearity, and types of functionalities that can be executed. However, for such a critical function, the versatility to generate and transform analog optical modulation is severely lacking, blocking the pathways to truly unique MWP functions including ultra-linear links and low-loss high rejection filters. Here, we demonstrate a versatile radiofrequency (RF) photonic spectral shaper integrated in a silicon photonic circuit. The spectral shaper controls the two modulation bands generated from an electro-optic modulation process in their relative amplitude and phase, offering an enhanced versatility for microwave-photonic modulation applications. Using the spectral shaper, we show electrically tailorable modulation transformations. Furthermore, we show a series of unprecedented RF filtering experiments through monolithic integration of the spectral shaper with a network of reconfigurable ring resonators.