A generalized time-domain model for nonlinear inter-satellite microwave photonics links under dual-tone modulation

A generalized time-domain model is presented for the evaluation of nonlinear distortion effects in inter-satellite microwave photonics links using a dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM) under dual-tone modulation. The model results in simple exact expressions for any harmonic and inter-modulation components at the output of the detector which can be applied to almost all operating conditions of DD-MZM, providing useful information to select system parameters for the performance optimization. Two special cases, double sideband and single sideband modulation, are studied in detail. Numerical results for the third-order inter-modulation distortion ratio (IMR3) are well matched with the analysis ones.