• ETRI Journal
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.194-204
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• 2024

A new method is proposed to generate a 32-tupling frequency millimeter wave (MMW) with eight Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs) connected in parallel. Theoretical analyses and simulation experiments are conducted. The optical sideband suppression ratio (OSSR) of the obtained ±16th order optical sidebands are 61.54 dB and 61.42 dB, and the radio frequency spurious suppression ratios (RFSSRs) of the generated 32-tupling frequency MMW are 55.52 dB and 55.27 dB based on the theoretical analysis and simulation experiments, respectively; these outcomes verified the feasibility of the new method. The main parameters used to affect the stability of the generated signal are the modulation index and extinction ratio of MZM. Their effects on the OSSR and RFSSR of the generated signals are investigated when they deviate from their designed values. Compared with the other proposed methods for the generation of 32-tupling frequency MMW by MZM, our method has the best spectral purity and stability, and it is expected to have important MMW over fiber applications.

• Journal of electromagnetic engineering and science
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2011

In phase-locked frequency synthesizers, a fast-lock technique is frequently employed to overcome the trade-off between a lock-time and a spurious response. The function of fast-lock in a conventional PLL (Phased Lock Loop) IC (Integrated Circuit) is limited by a factor of 16, which is usually implemented by a scaling of charge pumper, and consequently a lock time improvement of a factor of 4 is possible using the conventional PLL IC. In this paper, we propose a novel external active fast-lock loop filter. The proposed loop filter provides, conceptually, an unlimited scaling of charge pumper current, and can overcome conventional trade-off between lock-time and spur suppression. To demonstrate the validity of our proposed loop-filter, we fabricated an X-band frequency synthesizer using the proposed loop filter. The loop filter in the synthesizer is designed to have a loop bandwidth of 100 kHz in the fast-lock mode and a loop bandwidth of 5 kHz in the normal mode, which corresponds to a charge pumper current change ratio of 400. The X-band synthesizer shows successful performance of a lock-time of below 10 ${\mu}sec$ and reference spur suppression below -64 dBc.