Tunable optical single-sideband generation for OOK and PAM4 data channels using an optical frequency comb and nonlinear wave-mixing

We experimentally demonstrate tunable optical single-sideband (SSB) generation using a tapped-delay-line (TDL) optical filter for 10 and 20 Gbit/s on/off-keying (OOK) signals and a 20 Gbit/s four-level pulse-amplitude-modulated (PAM4) signal. The optical SSB filter is realized by using an optical frequency comb, wavelength-dependent delay, and nonlinear wave-mixing to achieve the TDL function. Moreover, SSB tunability is achieved by adjusting the amplitude, phase, frequency spacing, and number of selected optical frequency comb lines. We show that the one-sideband suppression of a double-sideband (DSB) channel can be enhanced as the number of taps is increased; however, we do measure a ∼1.5% error-vector-magnitude penalty. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the chromatic-dispersion-induced penalty after 80 km standard-single-mode-fiber transmission of a 10 Gbit/s SSB OOK signal without chromatic dispersion compensation has been reduced by >3 dB when compared to DSB.