Microwave frequency measurement using photonic methods

Broadband, low loss and cost-effective transmission capability of optical fiber links has led to an burst of applications in every field. Instantaneous microwave frequency measurement is one of the many fields that are facilitated by the technology of optical communication. In this paper, some new optical techniques developed by the authors for microwave frequency measurement are reviewed. One is based on an optical phase modulator, one based on PM-IM (phase modulation to intensity modulation) conversion, and the last one was based on optical power monitoring using an FBG.