Reconfigurable Instantaneous Frequency Measurement System Based on Dual-Parallel Mach–Zehnder Modulator

We propose and demonstrate a novel reconfigurable instantaneous frequency measurement (IFM) system based on the dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DPMZM). The IFM system can be reconfigurable with tunable measurement range and resolution by simply adjusting the dc bias voltage of the DPMZM. In principle, the measurement range could be tuned to any frequencies, which is only limited by the bandwidth of the optical transmitter and receiver employed. Alternatively, the IFM system can also work with a fixed wide measurement range and moderate resolution by generating two complementary power-fading functions.