Abstract
Millimeter waves (MMWs), operating at 30-300 GHz band, are very promising to the next generation 5G wireless communication systems, enabling data rates of multi Gbps per user. Photonic technology is increasingly considered to play a key role in a wide range of MMW devices, modules, and subsystems that are essential to successfully build next generation MMW-based 5G networks. This work considers the switching function of MMWs exploiting nonlinearity in photonic devices. In this paper, we perform a systematic investigation of the optimum operating conditions that enable an optical single sideband wavelength conversion, by exploiting the nonlinear effects in a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). This principle of switching carefully exploits SOA's four-wave mixing, cross-gain modulation in addition to self-phase modulation effects. The key parameters under investigation include the injection current, the wavelength spacing between the probe and the pump signals in addition to their respective powers. We experimentally determine the optimal operating conditions that maximize the sideband suppression ratio and simultaneously reduce the useless left sideband signal intensity, leading to a dispersion free transmission in optical fiber. Further, we experimentally demonstrate a photonic-based MMW switch of MMW signals having 30 GHz frequency and carrying 3 Gbaud/QPSK modulated signals. A 14-dB sideband suppression ratio of modulated signal is reported.