Broadband Microwave Frequency Conversion Based on an Integrated Optical Micro-Comb Source

We report a broadband microwave frequency converter based on a coherent Kerr optical micro-comb generated by an integrated micro-ring resonator. The coherent micro-comb displays features that are consistent with soliton crystal dynamics with a free spectral range of 48.9 GHz. We use this to demonstrate a high-performance millimeter-wave local oscillator for microwave frequency conversion. We experimentally verify the microwave performance up to 40 GHz, achieving a ratio of -6.8 dB between output radio frequency power and intermediate frequency power and a spurious suppression ratio of >43.5 dB. The experimental results show good agreement with theory and verify the effectiveness of microwave frequency converters based on coherent optical micro-combs, with the ability to achieve reduced size, complexity, and potential cost.