Digital coherent detection of multi-gigabit 40 GHz carrier frequency radio-over-fiber signals using photonic downconversion

Detection of high speed radio signals is a challenge for next generation radio-over-fiber links, requiring high bandwidth and linearity in the receiver. By using photonic downconversion in a coherent receiver, it is possible to detect signals exceeding the electrical bandwidth of the receiver, by performing the mixing of the radio signal with a free-running local oscillator in the optical domain. In this paper we present the experimental emonstration of high bitrate 16-QAM signal detection, up to 4 Gb/s, at 40 GHz carrier frequency, using low bandwidth electronics.