Sampled Analog Optical Links

We present a new intensity-modulated analog optical link architecture in which a pulsed optical carrier replaces the standard low-noise continuous-wave laser. Through a time-domain analysis of the sampled link architecture, we show that the link performance metrics reduce to those of a conventional analog optical link in the absence of photodiode nonlinearity. Experimental measurements of the link gain and third-order nonlinearity are presented, emphasizing the link performance as a function of received photocurrent. The work presented here demonstrates that the performance of sampled analog optical links rivals that of the conventional architecture, even in the presence of significant photodiode nonlinearity.