Performance characterization of an optoelectronic mixer (OEM) model based on nonlinear InP/InGaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor

We model an optical front-end receiver with an intermediate frequency (IF) signal transmission utilizing photonic up-conversion technique through harmonic balance simulation analysis. A mixing model is carried out taking advantages of the nonlinearities of the InP/InGaAs HBT to achieve up-conversion of a modulated optical signal. The intensity of the optical signal is modulated by an IF signal ranging from 0.1 GHz to 0.4 GHz and the local oscillation frequency injected into the base terminal is 30 GHz with an input power of -6 dBm. The nonlinear, harmonic balance technique is employed to simulate the mixing performance of the InP/InGaAs HBT OEM. 30.4 GHz up-converted frequency at collector-emitter voltage, V_CE = 1.6 V was achieved at the output port based on simulation study.