ABSTRACT
Lightwave technology has revolutionized the transmission of analog and, in particular, video information.
Because the light output intensity from a semiconductor laser is linearly proportional to the injected
current, and the current generated in a photodetector is linearly proportional to the incident optical
intensity, analog information is transmitted as modulation of the optical intensity. The lightwave system is
analogous to a linear electrical link, where current or voltage translates linearly into optical intensity. High-
speed semiconductor lasers and photodetectors enable intensity-modulation bandwidths greater than
10 GHz. Hence, a wide variety of radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications have been developed
[Darcie, 1990].
