High quality (Q) factor and high contrast ratio filters are
needed to efficiently select or suppress a given RF band. On
the other hand, flexible and very fast reconfigurability allows
the rapid change of a filter transfer function for dynamic and
adaptive applications. In both cases, recent developments in
the field of MWP filters provide a variety of techniques and
approaches featuring values and figures that outperform those
obtained using traditional RF techniques.
High selectivity filters have been reported both for notch
and bandpass operation [51]–[54]. In [51], an ultraselective
notch filter is reported which is implemented by feeding two
different lasers (emitting at and , respectively) modulated
in counterphase by the same RF signal to an amplified recirculating
delay line which contains a wavelength filter to block
the component. Thus, the structure implements a bandpass
filter for the component and an all-pass characteristic for
the component. These are subtracted upon beating in the
photodetector. The substraction of the bandpass characteristic
(obtained for ) from the all-pass response (obtained for )
features a high resolution notch response with a notch width of
0.55% of the filter FSR and a deep notch of over 40 dB depth
with stable performance even though the laser sources have a
narrow linewidth.
A highly selective FIR bandpass filter was proposed and experimentally
demonstrated in [52] which was based on the combination
of an FBG-based tapped delay line providing a spectrally
periodic filter and a tuned EOM which operated in a bandpass
region of the RF spectrum covering only one spectral period.
The filter was designed to be tunable over the UMTS spectral
band using switched dispersive delay lines and featured a
quality factor of 234. Much higher quality factors for bandpass
filters were subsequently reported using an amplified IIR structure
combined with a tuned modulator [53], [54]. A Q factor
in excess of 3000 was reported in [53] using the configuration
shown in Fig. 11.
An amplified IIR filter was assembled by embedding a piece
of erbium-doped fiber (EDF) between two FBG devices. The
EDF was optically pumped to produce the required cavity gain
to sustain the sample amplitudes without reaching laser oscillations.
The IIR structure was fed by an RF modulated CW laser.
Using a broadband external modulator resulted in a typical periodic
filter, where the resonance bandwidth could be controlled,
by a precise setting of the optical pump signal, as shown in
the lower left part of Fig. 11. Single resonance operation was
achieved by substituting the broadband external modulator by a
tuned device.
Significant progress on spectral quality and programmable
filter transfer function reconfigurability has been achieved by
spectral shaping of optical broadband [55] and comb sources
[56]–[60]. In the first case [55], shown in the upper part of
Fig. 12, a broadband optical source was shaped in amplitude
by means of a diffraction grating which spatially separated 40
wavelength components (0.8 nm channel separation). Each one
was sent to a different programmable SLM to shape its amplitude.
All of them were subsequently combined and fed into one
of the two inputs of an external modulator by means of an optical
switch (depending on the positive or negative sign of the
coefficient to be implemented) to inject the RF signal to be processed.
A dispersive fiber link placed after the modulator provided
the required frequency to time mapping prior to photodetection.
Changing the wavelength amplitudes through a controlling
computer allowed the dynamic shaping of the transfer function
featuring different windowing functions. The lower part
of Fig. 12 displays theoretically expected and measured results
of different transfer functions corresponding to a diverse windowing
or apodization functions currently employed in signal
processing applications.
The former scheme is quite flexible but in principle does
not allow filter tunability. However, a similar scheme based
on optical comb sources [56]–[60] overcomes this limitation
The operating principle is very similar to that described in
the case of using a broadband optical source. The main difference
is that here an optical comb source generated by laser
modelocking is employed. The output modes are independently
shaped providing the desired windowing functions and the conformed
optical spectrum is then modulated by the RF signal
and transmitted through a dispersive fiber link. The lower part
of Fig. 13 provides two examples corresponding to different
spectral shaping functions using a comb source featuring 30
modes and the resulting filter transfer functions. As expected by
using a Gaussian windowing, the SSLs are considerably reduced
(MSSL > 35 dB). One fundamental advantage of this structure
is that it can be made tunable by implementing complex-valued
coefficients [59]. This can be achieved by replacing the single
comb source by a more elaborated transmitter employing two
identical comb sources, as shown in Fig. 14.
The modes of one comb source are phase delayed with respect
to their equivalents in the other. The value of the phase shift is
controlled by means of a voltage signal. Phase shifted modes
are not RF modulated while the modes in the other comb are
RF single sideband modulated with carrier suppression.
Upon combination, each wavelength contains an optical carrier
phase-shifted with respect to its sideband or, in other words,
a complex-valued coefficient. The upper right part of Fig. 14
shows how by increasing the control voltage the phase shift is
changed and the filter resonance position is tuned. This tuning
mechanism can be extremely fast with record values of 34 ps
as reported in [59]. Furthermore, the number of samples can be
increased by means of exploiting nonlinear four wave mixing
effects and thus increasing the MSSL. For instance, in [59], a
record MSSL value of over 60 dB has been demonstrated as
shown in the measured transfer function displayed in the lower
part of Fig. 14.