Patent ID: 6850710

Claim:
A method of transmitting and receiving multiple RF/microwave subcarriers on a single optical wavelength over an optical link of a hybrid fiber optic/coaxial cable network comprising the steps of: modulating a plurality of RF/microwave subcarrier frequencies with a respective communication signal; modulating an optical carrier wave with the plurality of modulated RF/microwave subcarrier frequencies for transmission over a fiber optic portion of the hybrid fiber optic/coaxial cable network, where an occupied bandwidth of the modulated optical carrier is not limited by a bandwidth of a coaxial cable portion of the hybrid fiber optic/coaxial cable network; detecting the plurality of RF/microwave subcarriers of the optical carrier wave and mixing those subcarriers with a first local oscillator (LO) frequency to create a new heterodyne IF frequency above the highest frequency component of the modulated signal spectrum of the detected subcarriers; filtering an RF/microwave subcarrier frequency of the plurality of detected RF/microwave subcarriers utilizing a bandpass filter at an IF center frequency of the new IF frequency; and mixing the filtered RF/microwave subcarrier with a second local oscillator (LO) frequency to derive a difference frequency at a desired center frequency for propagation over the coaxial cable portion of the hybrid fiber optic/coaxial cable network.