Incoherent bipolar tap microwave photonic filter based on balanced bridge electro-optic modulator

A novel all-optical technique to implement bipolar taps in an incoherent photonic filter is demonstrated. The use of all-optical techniques for the implementation of filters is inherently wideband and reduces the need for electronic interfaces. The technique is based on the utilisation of the complementary outputs of a commercially available balanced bridge electro-optic modulator, in which taps of the same polarity are generated from a common output arm.