High-gain amplification of a weak RF signal based on cascade dual optoelectronic oscillators

A method for implementing weak radio frequency (RF) signal amplification with high-gain based on injection-locked dual optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By keeping the gain of cascade dual OEOs (CDOEOs) just a little below threshold, the proposed system will have a great advantage in amplifying weak RF signals, which is equal to the potential oscillation mode. The experimental results show that the sensitivity of the system can reach as low as -100 dBm, and the maximum gain is 46 dB. The phase noise performance of the weak RF signal after amplification is also investigated.