Optical distribution of UWB: Low complexity pulse generation supporting OOK and PSK

Optical transport of UWB signals extends the reach of these power-limited signals. We propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple, low-cost method to generate UWB pulses in optics. Unlike other methods, we use the minimal hardware configuration (source/modulator/photodetector) without requiring RF pulse shaping. A novel combination of data and a sinusoidal signal modulates the intensity of a continuous wave laser to create various UWB pulses. For impulse radio UWB, on-off keying (OOK) or phase-shift-keying is accomplished simply by adjusting the data and the sinusoidal signal amplitudes. Multiband UWB signals with OOK can also be realized by this technique.