All-optical generation of binary phase-coded microwave signal based on cross-polarization modulation in a highly nonlinear fiber.

We report a novel all-optical approach to generate a binary phase-coded microwave signal based on a cross-polarization modulation effect in a highly nonlinear fiber. The carrier frequency of the binary phase-coded microwave signal is widely tunable. Moreover, the precise π phase shift of the microwave signal is independent of the optical power of the control beam. The proposed approach is theoretically analyzed and experimentally verified. For a proof-of-concept demonstration, the binary phase-coded microwave signals with a carrier frequency of 20 GHz at a coding rate of 5  Gb/s and with a carrier frequency of 30 GHz at a coding rate of 7.5  Gb/s are experimentally generated. The pulse compression capability of the system is also evaluated. The measured and simulated results fit well with each other.