Microwave fiber-optic downconverter

In future mobile broadband communication systems, optical fiber will be an attractive means of connecting the mobile switching centre (MSG) with the base stations. In the uplink configuration a downconversion of the microwave signal by mixing is required, which might be attractive to be done optically. We demonstrate experimentally the downconverter function of a mode-locked laser (MLL) with an optical intensity modulator and a photodetector (PD) in the uplink configuration.