Self-oscillating dual-band dual-chirp microwave waveform generation using a phase modulation-based optoelectronic oscillator and a dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator

A method for the generation of self-oscillating dual-band dual-chirp signals is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The system comprises a phase modulation-based optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) and a dual-parallel Mach–Zehnder modulator (DPMZM). One arm of the DPMZM is driven by a single-frequency oscillation signal generated by the OEO, and another arm is driven by a baseband linear frequency modulated signal. Dual-band complementary chirp signals with a bandwidth of 1 GHz and a duration of 1 µs are successfully produced by properly setting the working parameters of DPMZM without the need for an external radio frequency source.