Optical generation of microwave signal by doped fiber external cavity semiconductor laser for radio-over-fiber transmission

We report on the first experiments of optical microwave generation by heterodyne beating of two doped-fiber semiconductor external-cavity lasers (DFECL). Our measurements show that minor side-mode beating in DFECL affect the optical heterodyne beat signal. Using the RF methods we study the side-mode suppression in the DFECL.