Calibration-Free Electrical Spectrum Analysis for Microwave Characterization of Optical Phase Modulators Using Frequency-Shifted Heterodyning

A novel calibration-free electrical spectrum analysis method for microwave characterization of electrooptic phase modulators is proposed and experimentally demonstrated based on frequency-shifted optical heterodyning. The method achieves the electrical domain measurement of the modulation efficiency of phase modulators without the need for correcting the responsivity fluctuation in the photodetection. Moreover, it extends double the measuring frequency range through setting a specific frequency relationship between the driving microwave signals. Modulation depth and half-wave voltage of phase modulators are experimentally extracted from the heterodyning spectrum of two phase-modulated signals with and without frequency shifting, and the measured results are compared to those obtained with the traditional optical spectrum analysis method to check the consistency. The proposed method provides calibration-free and accurate measurement for high-speed optical phase modulators with the high-resolution electrical spectrum analysis.