Signal-to-Noise Ratio of Microwave Photonic Filter With an Interferometric Structure Based on an Incoherent Broadband Optical Source

A comprehensive investigation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the microwave photonic filter (MPF) with an interferometric structure based on an incoherent broadband optical source (IBOS) is presented from the time and frequency domains, respectively. The interferometric structure and the IBOS in the MPF result in a beneficial single-bandpass radiofrequency (RF) response. However, the IBOS adds a relatively large noise to the filtered RF signal. Therefore, the analysis of the SNR is of great importance for the design of this kind of MPFs. Theoretical analysis shows that the SNR is a function of the center frequency of the passband, the modulation index, the chromatic dispersion, and the shape of the IBOS. An experiment is performed to verify the theory, and experimental results agree well with the theoretical calculation.