Photonically assisted microwave waveform generation by gain-transparent SBS-induced carrier processing

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a new approach to generate microwave waveforms by phase modulation and optical carrier phase processing based on gain-transparent stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). By properly adjusting the SBS-induced-phase shift on the carrier and the following group velocity dispersion, microwave waveforms with controllable repetition rates and temporal profiles can be generated. In the experiment, we have successfully generated triangular waveforms at repetition rates of 5.64 and 7.87 GHz, and rectangular waveforms at repetition rates of 5.04 and 7.01 GHz.