Voltage-Dependent Residual Phase Noise of a Photodiode Measurement Based on a Two-Tone Correlation Method

We propose a novel approach to measure the residual phase noise (RPN) of a photodiode (PD) based on a two-tone correlation method. Compared with the previous measurements of the RPNs of PDs, this method is more convenient in practical application. In this method, two microwave sources and other components were placed in two isolated links sharing the same PD, so the noises of them were uncorrelated. With an FFT analyzer, the uncorrelated noises could be mostly suppressed while only the RPN of the PD was preserved. Voltage-dependent nonlinearities of PDs were studied previously. In this letter, we investigate the relationship between the RPN of the PD and the bias voltage on the PD. By changing the bias voltage, the difference of the RPN can be up to 10 dB. KCI Citation Count: 0