Dual polarization vector signal generation and detection

A communication signal transmission apparatus, comprising:

• a first IQ modulator that:
• receives a first sequence of information bits;
• vector-modulates the first sequence of information bits,
• thereby creating a first stream of vector-modulated symbols;
• mixes the first stream of vector-modulated symbols with a lower side band (LSB) carrier having a first frequency to generate a complex vector-modulated LSB signal;
• generates a first I-component signal by adding an imaginary part of the vector-modulated LSB signal with an imaginary part of an upper side band (USB) carrier having a second frequency;
• generates a first Q-component signal by adding a real part of the vector-modulated LSB signal with a real part of the upper side band (USB) carrier having the second frequency;
• a second IQ modulator that operates simultaneously with the first IQ modulator to:
• receive a second sequence of information bits;
• vector-modulates the second sequence of information bits,
• thereby creating a second stream of vector-modulated symbols;
• mixes the second stream of vector-modulated symbols with another lower side band (LSB) carrier having the first frequency to generate another complex vector-modulated LSB signal;
• generates a second I-component signal by adding an imaginary part of the another vector-modulated LSB signal with an imaginary part of another upper side band (USB) carrier having the second frequency;
• generates a second Q-component signal by adding a real part of the another vector-modulated LSB signal with a real part of the USB carrier having the second frequency;
• an integrated dual-polarization IQ modulator that produces a dual-polarized, vector-modulated optical signal comprising an upper sideband component and a lower sideband component based on the first I-component signal, the first Q-component signal, the second I-component signal, and the second Q-component signal;
• a splitter that splits the dual-polarized, vector-modulated optical signal into a first polarization beam component and a second polarization beam component;
• a transmission link that causes the first polarization beam component and the second polarization beam component to propagate to a signal output stage;
• and
• the signal output stage that transmit the first polarization beam component and the second polarization beam component at a desired radio frequency over a transmission medium.

A method of optical communication, implemented at a receiver in an optical communication network, comprising:

• receiving, at a signal input stage, a first polarization beam component and a second polarization beam component at a target radio frequency over a transmission medium;
• wherein each of the first polarization beam component and the second polarization beam component is a single side band vector modulated signal;
• downconverting the first polarization beam component and the second polarization beam component to a first intermediate signal and a second intermediate signal at an intermediate frequency;
• performing single sideband demodulation on the first intermediate signal and the second intermediate signal to produce a first vector-modulated signal and a second vector-modulated signal;
• and
• recovering information bits from the first vector-modulated signal and the second vector-modulated signal.

A receiver apparatus for use in an optical communication network, comprising:

• a signal input stage that receives a first polarization beam component and a second polarization beam component at a target radio frequency over a transmission medium;
• wherein each of the first polarization beam component and the second polarization beam component is a single side band vector modulated signal;
• a downconversion stage that downconverts the first polarization beam component and the second polarization beam component to a first intermediate signal and a second intermediate signal at an intermediate frequency;
• a single sideband demodulator that performs single sideband demodulation on the first intermediate signal and the second intermediate signal to produce a first vector-modulated signal and a second vector-modulated signal;
• and
• a data recovery stage that recovers information bits from the first vector-modulated signal and the second vector-modulated signal.