Fine tunable PT-symmetric optoelectronic oscillator based on laser wavelength tuning

A fine tunable parity-time symmetric optoelectronic oscillator (PT-OEO) based on laser wavelength tuning is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. In the PT-OEO, an intensity modulator (IM) and a dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) are merged into the loop. Tuning the laser wavelength leads to a reconfigurable dispersion-induced power fading, serving as rough tunable oscillation mode selection. Meanwhile, to implement a fine-mode selection, parity-time symmetry breaking is introduced. Consequently, a fine tunable PT-OEO is achieved without using a high quality-factor (Q-factor) electrical filter. Experiment shows that the frequency of the generated signal can be tuned from 20.34 to 19.49 GHz with a step of 203 MHz, when the laser wavelength is manipulated from 1545 to 1565 nm. The phase noise is evaluated as −116.1 dBc/Hz @ 10-kHz offset frequency.