Double sideband suppressed carrier modulation for stable fiber delivery of radio frequency standards

We theoretically and experimentally investigate the properties of a double sideband suppressed carrier modulation transmission scheme for long distance microwave frequency standard dissemination. The proposed method effectively doubles the transmitted frequency obtaining enhanced phase noise and stability performance. Suppressing the optical carrier also eliminates the dispersion induced signal fading. Important transmission parameters like optical modulation depth and linearity are also improved. Allan deviation and phase noise measurements prove the superior performance of the proposed modulation format. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.