Nonlinear Phase Modulation Inside an MQW Optical Modulator

Nonlinear optical phase modulation inside a quantum well phase modulator can be tailored to facilitate frequency down-conversion of RF signals. We examined the mechanisms of the nonlinear phase modulation. We presented a theoretical model for the nonlinear phase modulation and derived a closed form solution. We found that carrier transport dynamics only restrict the IF bandwidth in the frequency down-conversion operation. Numerical simulation and measurements were conducted to validate the theoretical results.