Patent ID: 8135287

Claim:
An apparatus for generating a 100 Gbit/s orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) signal, the apparatus comprising: a laser that generates an unmodulated optical signal, four data sources that generate base-band data streams one through four, four electrical mixers that mix the four base-band data streams at a frequency, f, to generate four up-converted data streams, at least one optical splitter that splits the unmodulated optical signal into four optical signals, a first through fourth optical intensity modulator, each intensity modulator configured to modulate one of the four optical signals with one of the up-converted data streams, thereby generating a carrier suppressed optical signal with at least two sidebands, a first optical interleaver configured to combine an upper sideband from the first intensity modulator with a lower sideband from the second intensity modulator to generate a first frequency division multiplexed (FDM) optical signal, a second optical interleaver configured to combine an upper sideband from the third optical modulator with a lower sideband from the fourth intensity modulator to generate a second FDM optical signal, and a polarization beam combiner (PBC) that combines one polarization of the first FDM optical signal with an orthogonal polarization of the second FDM optical signal, thereby generating a 100 Gbit/s OFDM signal.