hv

photonics

Article
Mach–Zehnder Modulator Output in Time and Frequency
Domain—Calculation and Experimental Confirmation
Sander Vervoort 1,2, * , Yannick Saalberg 1 and Marcus Wolff 1

1 Heinrich Blasius Institute of Physical Technologies, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Berliner Tor 21,
20099 Hamburg, Germany
2 School of Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, High Street,
Paisley PA1 2BE, UK
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: The Mach–Zehnder intensity Modulator (MZM), named after Ludwig Mach and Ludwig
Zehnder, is based on the corresponding interferometer. It splits light into two counter-rotating partial
beams, which are later recombined with a controlled phase difference. The output of the MZM
depends on the phase difference of the interferometer paths. This phase difference is usually adjusted
by an electrical voltage applied to a Phase Shifter (PS) placed in one of the interferometer arms.
For MZM applications in which the wavelength is changing, the applied voltage must be adjusted
accordingly. We derived the equations describing the MZM output in the frequency domain for
the case of a triangular PS voltage (necessary for a sinusoidal output) and compared the analytical
results with measurements. Our setup uses an Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) with a tunable
wavelength from 3.2–3.5 µm as the light source and a Lithium Tantalate (LT)-PS for the MZM’s
phase modulation. The novel insights enable new control methods for MZMs particularly suited for
spectroscopic applications where the wavelength is scanned or otherwise altered.

Keywords: photoacoustic spectroscopy; Mach–Zehnder intensity modulator; phase shifter; frequency

analysis; voltage control; electro-optic modulator; harmonic analysis

1. Introduction
Citation: Vervoort, S.; Saalberg, Y.; The Mach–Zehnder intensity Modulator (MZM) is widely used for the intensity
Wolff, M. Mach–Zehnder Modulator
modulation of optical signals, for example, in fiber-optic communication [1]. It has also
Output in Time and Frequency
gained significant importance as an electro-optic modulator for spectroscopic applications,
Domain—Calculation and
e.g., Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS). PAS is a powerful technique for studying the inter-
Experimental Confirmation.
action of light with matter, with applications in a range of fields, including environmental
Photonics 2023, 10, 337. https://
monitoring, biomedical imaging, and materials science [2,3].
doi.org/10.3390/photonics10030337
In particular, PAS requires modulated radiation to excite the sample in a way that
Received: 3 February 2023 an acoustic signal is generated [4]. High-frequency stability is very important in this
Revised: 2 March 2023 application because the acoustic detection module usually acts as a band-pass filter and
Accepted: 15 March 2023 hence cuts off signals outside the band-pass width. Compared to the mechanical chopper,
Published: 21 March 2023
a MZM can provide a pure sinusoidal signal free of mechanical influences, which leads to
an improvement in precision and stability. Another key advantage of MZMs is their ability
to provide high modulation frequencies.
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
In MZMs, the modulation occurs as a result of the interference of two partial beams of
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. different phases. The difference in phase depends on several factors but can be adjusted
This article is an open access article using a voltage applied to the MZM’s Phase Shifter (PS). Effects on the modulation by
distributed under the terms and temperature, displacement, and wavelength variation can be observed in the interference
conditions of the Creative Commons and hence in the optical signal. A systematic control of the MZM can oppose these effects.
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// According to the state of the art, the bias voltage control of the modulator is performed
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ by monitoring the power of the output signal and adjusting the bias voltage to match the
4.0/). MZM operation point [5]. A different approach is to monitor the harmonics of the output

Photonics 2023, 10, 337. https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics10030337 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/photonics

Photonics 2023, 10, 337 2 of 11

signal instead of its power [6]. A bias voltage is the Direct Current (DC) component of the
PS’s control voltage. Furthermore, there are first approaches to model-based controls [7].
The aim of this investigation is to evaluate a mathematical model of the characteristics
of the interfering optical signal in the frequency domain. This novel approach could lead to
an inclusion of the wavelength dependency directly in a control algorithm and thus enable
more efficient control of the MZM.
The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 describes our experimental setup, fol-
lowed by the MZM fundamentals and its operating parameters in Section 3. The novel
calculation of the MZM output signal in the frequency domain is presented in Section 4.
Section 5 includes a comparison of the experimental and analytical results, concluded by a
discussion in Section 6.

2. Experimental Setup
The MZM is part of a PAS setup measuring Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in
air [8]. Since the VOCs have broadband absorption spectra, we use an Optical Parametric
Oscillator (OPO), type Argos, model 2400-BB-5 Module C from Lockheed Martin Aculight
in Bothell, WA, USA, with a tunable wavelength of 3.2–3.5 µm as a light source. The pump
laser is a high-power diode-pumped ytterbium fiber laser, model YLR-10-1064-LP-SF from
IPG Photonics in Oxford, MA, USA.
The free-beam MZM used in our experimental setup is a self-construction and uses
a Lithium Tantalate (LT)-PS model PS3T-MWIR1 from QUBIG in Munich, Germany, two
beam splitters, type BSW510 from Thorlabs Inc. Newton, New Jersey, and two protected
silver mirrors type PF10-03-P01, from Thorlabs. The LT crystal is coated with a broadband
anti-reflection coating that reduces reflections in the wavelength range from 3–4.5 µm to
less than 1%. Floating electrodes allow differential voltage operation. The PS’s voltage is
controlled with a function generator, model 33220A from Agilent Technologies in Santa
Clara, CA, USA and a high voltage linear amplifier including internal DC bias source,
model HVA-A075-D1.5 from QUBIG (VAC = 0–0.75 kV and VDC = 0–1.5 kV).
To detect the MZM’s transmission, an InAsSb fixed gain amplified detector, model
PDA07P2 from Thorlabs with a range from 2.7 µm to 5.3 µm is used. The detector’s
transimpedance gain at Hi-Z is 300 kV A−1 . It is used at constant room temperature
of 19 °C and wavelength of 3.4 µm, the sensor’s responsivity at these conditions equals
(4.7 ± 0.2) mA W−1 . This leads to an amplification of (1.41 ± 0.06) V mW−1 at the detec-
tor’s output. The signal is then processed by a data acquisition card, model USB-6210 from
National Instruments in Austin, TX. A schematic of the MZM’s setup is shown in Figure 1.

Ib

PS

Ie Ia

Figure 1. Mach–Zehnder intensity Modulator (MZM) including Phase Shifter (PS) for phase modula-
tion, input Ie , and outputs Ia and Ib .

3. Mach–Zehnder Intensity Modulator Fundamentals

The MZM is based on the alternation between constructive and destructive interfer-
ence. The interference is generated as follows: A beam splitter divides incident light into
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 3 of 11

two beams of approximately the same intensity. After passing through two different optical
paths, with the PS in one of them, the beams are superimposed using a second beam splitter.
The input beam has the intensity Ie , and the output beams have the intensities Ia
and Ib , respectively. The relationship between output and input intensity Ia,b /Ie can be
described as transmission τa,b , which is a function of the phase difference φ between the
two counter-rotating partial beams [1]
 
2 φ
τa = cos , (1a)
2
1 + cos(φ )
τa = . (1b)
2
Equation (1b) is an alternative variant of the commonly used Equation (1a), which allows
us to convert the output signal easier into the frequency domain. The corresponding
transmission τb can be calculated analogously by replacing φ with φ + π.
By changing the voltage V (t) applied to the PS, φ and the corresponding transmission
τa,b can be adjusted due to the Pockels effect [1]

V (t)
φ=π + C. (2)
Vλ/2

The half-wave voltage Vλ/2 is the voltage required to shift the phase φ by π. It is material
and wavelength dependent. For the transverse Pockels effect, the voltage is applied
perpendicular to the optical axis. The half-wave voltage is a function of the electrode
distance dPS and the crystal length lPS

λ dPS
Vλ/2 = . (3)
n3e r33 lPS

Here, r33 is the electro-optic coefficient and ne the extraordinary refractive index of LT [9,10].
Besides the intentional modulation by V (t), the phase depends on semi-constant
factors like the difference in optical path length and the PS’s temperature, summarized as
C. One of these factors is the voltage free phase shift φPS ∈ C of the PS, calculated using
Equation (4a) [10]. Another factor is the inequality of the optical length limb of the MZM in
combination with temperature and wavelength fluctuations. For imbalanced MZMs, the
phase φimb ∈ C of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer is calculated using Equation (4b) [11,12]

2πne lPS
φPS = , (4a)
λ
2πnair limb
φimb = , (4b)
λ
with the refractive index of air nair , the optical length inequality limb between the two arms
of the MZM, and the wavelength λ of the OPO.

4. Calculation of MZM Output Signal

The transmission of the MZM is a function of cos2 of φ (see Equation (1a,b); therefore,
a triangular phase modulation of the PS is required to obtain a pure sinusoidal output
signal. Since voltage and phase of the PS are proportional (see Equation (2)), the voltage
modulation of the PS needs to be triangular as well. In Figure 2 the modulated phase φ (t)
of the PS is shown.
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 4 of 11

φ0 + φm

φ(t)

φ0
−1.0 −0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0
t / Tm

Figure 2. Phase φ modulation of the PS. Solid line: within one period Tm , dashed line: outside
the period.

The triangular voltage and phase modulation φ can be described as

φ (t) = φ0 + |2φm f m t| for − Tm /2 ≤ t < Tm /2, or (5a)

(
φ0 − 2φm f m t for − Tm /2 ≤ t < 0,
φ (t) = (5b)
φ0 + 2φm f m t for 0 ≤ t < Tm /2,

with the modulation frequency f m and its period Tm = 1/ f m . The modulated phase φm
depends on the peak-to-peak amplitude of the triangular voltage Vm (see Equation (6a)),
the phase φ0 depends on the voltage offset V0

φm = πVm /Vλ/2 , (6a)

φ0 = πV0 /Vλ/2 + C. (6b)

C stands for the voltage independent factors introduced in Equation (2). A resulting
exemplary transmission according to Equations (1a) and (5a,b) with φ0 = 0.8π and φm =
1.2π is shown in Figure 3.

1
τa (t)

0
−1.0 −0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0
t / Tm

Figure 3. Transmission τa of the MZM with φ0 = 0.8π and φm = 1.2π. Solid line: within one period
Tm , dashed line: outside the period.

The transmission will be purely sinusoidal as long as φ (t) represents a linear sweep.
Since the function is not differentiable (its derivative is not continuous), harmonics arise,
which is undesirable in many applications. These harmonics will be further analyzed in
the following.
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 5 of 11

We consider the phase-dependent cosine component of Equation (1b) as the signal

s = cos(φ ) (7)

and assume this signal to be extended periodically for all time. This aspect will become
important for the calculation of the resulting spectrum. Combining the triangular phase
from Equation (5b) with the signal from Equation (7) and taking advantage of the fact that
cos( x ) = cos(− x ) leads to
   
t − Tm /4 t + Tm /4
s(t) = cos(2φm f m t + φ0 ) · rect + cos(2φm f m t − φ0 ) · rect . (8)
Tm /2 Tm /2

Hereby, the shifted rectangular function serves as a window function of width Tm /2 to

translate the section-wise defined phase into an easy-to-transform mathematical form. It is
centered at ± Tm /4 and, thus, incorporates the sign difference shown in Equation (5b) at
negative and positive time. By applying a Fourier transform, we can calculate the complex
spectrum S( f ) of the signal.
       
1 φm f m jφ0 φm f m −jφ0 Tm π f Tm −jπ f Tm /2
S( f ) = δ f− e +δ f + e ∗ sinc e
2 π π 2 2
       
1 φm f m −jφ0 φm f m jφ0 Tm π f Tm jπ f Tm /2
+ δ f− e +δ f + e ∗ sinc e
2 π π 2 2
+ sDC (φm , φ0 )δ( f ) ∗ Tm sinc(π f Tm ). (9)

In the above equation, the sinus cardinalis function is used in its unnormalized form
sinc( x ) = sin( x )/x and δ( x ) refers to the Dirac delta distribution
(
∞ for x = 0,
δ( x ) = (10)
0 for x 6= 0,
R∞
with a constraint to satisfy −∞ δ( x ) dx = 1. The ∗ operator represents the convolution of
the two functions. The term sDC (φm , φ0 ) represents a possible DC part of s(t). This part is
dependent on φm and φ0 but independent of time. As s(t) is symmetric with respect to the
y-axis, we can calculate it to be
Z
Tm /2
2
sDC = s(t)dt (11a)
Tm 0
Z Tm /2
2
= cos(2φm f m t + φ0 )dt (11b)
Tm 0
 Tm /2
2 sin(2φm f m t + φ0 ) 
=  (11c)
Tm 2φm f m 
0
sin(φm + φ0 ) − sin(φ0 )
= . (11d)
φm

The expression for S( f ) in Equation (9) can be simplified using the properties of the
convolution with a Dirac function (Equation (10)) as well as rearranging the phase shifts.
The result is a purely real spectrum
    
Tm π f Tm − φm π f Tm − φm
S( f ) = sinc cos φ0 −
2 2 2
   
π f Tm + φm π f Tm + φm
+ sinc cos φ0 +
2 2
+ sDC Tm sinc(π f Tm ). (12)
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 6 of 11

The interim steps to get from Equation (9) to (12) can be found in Appendix A.
Periodical repetition of our signal leads to a discrete spectrum Sp ( f ). This discrete
spectrum is only defined at multiples of the fundamental frequency f = k f m with k ∈ N.
Additionally, we get a factor of 1/Tm in the spectrum by changing our description of the
signal to a periodical form. Depending on φm , the resulting spectrum can be at the peak of
the sinc function or also on side slopes

∞    
1 πk − φm πk − φm
Sp ( f ) = ∑ δ( f − k f m ) sinc cos φ0 −
k =−∞
2 2 2
    
1 πk + φm πk + φm
+ sinc cos φ0 + + sDC sinc(πk) . (13)
2 2 2

The final result is a purely real, discrete, and symmetric spectrum. In Figure 4, the
amplitude spectrum (frequency domain) of the previous example in Figure 3 (time do-
main) is shown. The amplitude spectrum at each valid frequency f = k f m can eas-
ily be calculated by taking the absolute value of the expression in the square brackets
with the following k. All other frequencies have, per the definition of periodicity, an
amplitude of 0. The solid green line in Figure 4 corresponds to the absolute value of
the spectrum |S( f )|, normalized by Tm , and the blue stems are the absolute value of
the end result when the signal is periodically extended |Sp ( f )|. We have additionally
plotted the three summands of Equation (12) separately: the left shifted sinc function
B = 0.5Tm sinc((π f Tm + φm )/2) cos(φ0 + (π f Tm + φm )/2), the right shifted sinc func-
tion C = 0.5Tm sinc((π f Tm − φm )/2) cos(φ0 − (π f Tm − φm )/2) as well as the DC part
A = sDC Tm sinc(π f Tm ).

C/Tm
0.4 B/Tm
A/Tm
|S( f )| /Tm
Norm. Amplitude

0.2  
 
Sp ( f )

0.0

−0.2

−0.4

−4 −2 0 2 4
f / fm

Figure 4. Amplitude spectrum of MZM output signal with φ0 = 0.8π and φm = 1.2π and the
summands of S( f ): DC part A, left shifted sinc function B, and right shifted sinc function C.

5. Comparison of Experimental and Analytical Results

In order to validate the analytical results, they are compared with the measurements.
First, we determine the half-wave voltage of the PS by measuring radiation intensity Ia
in one of the interferometer arms while continuously increasing the applied DC voltage
from 0 to 1.4 kV, close to the upper limit of our voltage supply. The normalized measured
values (orange crosses) with fitted squared cosine function Ifit (blue line) are shown in
Figure 5. Scipy’s curve_fit() function was used to fit the data, which is a non-linear least
squares optimization. Scipy is a Python library for scientific computing. Normalization is
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 7 of 11

archived by dividing the measured transmission by the maximum transmission of the fitted
function τa0 = Ia / max( Ifit ). At maximum destructive interference, 10 % of the normalized
transmission is retained, resulting in a resulting modulation depth of 90 %.

1.0
Fit (cos2 )
0.8 Measurement

0.6
τa0

0.4

0.2

0.0
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
V / kV

Figure 5. Normalized transmission τa0 of MZM dependent on applied Voltage V.

The half-wave voltage Vλ/2 corresponds to the difference between the applied voltage
at minimum transmission (left blue marker) and the applied voltage at maximum transmis-
sion (right blue marker). The so-called quadrature point (middle blue marker) is exactly in
between the two points of maximum and minimum transmission. It is often used as the
preferred operating point of the MZM in bias voltage control algorithms. The half-wave
voltage, according to a cos2 fit, turns out to be

Vλ/2 = (1.697 ± 0.083) kV. (14)

q
We calculate the standard deviation error of the applied voltage ±∆Vλ/2 = σV2 from the
estimated variance σV2 of the fit, provided by Scipy’s curve_fit() function.
Since the PS power supply is limited to 1.5 kV, we can change the phase up to
max ( φm ) = 0.88π only, calculated by Equation (6a). For a pure sinusoidal signal,
max ( φm ) = π would be necessary; this is also reflected in the further measurements.
From the presented analytical description of the MZM, the frequency-dependent signal
Sp,calc ( f ) can be determined for any φ0 , φm , and f m . Figure 6 presents the results from the
analytical model, as well as amplitudes of the measured signal Sp,meas ( f ) with the same
parameters for φ0 , φm , and f m . The modulation frequency of the measurement f m is set to
2.5 kHz and the sampling rate to 125 kHz with a duration of 2 ms. Matlab’s implementation
of the Goertzel algorithm [13,14] was used to determine the signal amplitudes of single
selectable frequencies Sp,meas,raw ( f ), which are then normalized by

max(Sp,calc ( f ))
Sp,meas ( f ) = Sp,meas,raw ( f ) . (15)
max(Sp,meas,raw ( f ))

The top row shows the fundamental signal Sp ( f 0 ) and the bottom row first harmonic signal
Sp (2 f 0 ). The analytical results are on the left side, while the right side shows the measured
values. In each diagram, the x-axis represents φm , while  the y-axis represents φ0 . The color
shows the amplitude of the resulting signal Sp ( f ) for the respective constellation: dark
blue represents a high and light yellow a low amplitude.
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 8 of 11

0.75 |Sp,calc ( f 0 )| |Sp,meas ( f 0 )| 0.4

Norm. Amplitude
0.50

φ0 / π
0.2
0.25

0.00 0.0

0.15
0.75 |Sp,calc (2 f 0 )| |Sp,meas (2 f 0 )|

Norm. Amplitude
0.50 0.10
φ0 / π

0.25 0.05

0.00 0.00
0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75
φm / π φm / π

Figure 6. Signal power of fundamental f 0 and first harmonic 2 f 0 .

To compensate, the external factors C in (6b), the calculations are shifted along the y-
axis by C = 0.12 π. Qualitatively, calculation and measurement match well. The difference
can quantitatively be expressed by the normalized Mean Absolute Error (nMAE)
 
∑in=1 (Sp,calc )i − (Sp,meas )i 
nMAE = , (16)
∑in=1 (Sp,calc )i

where (Sp,meas )i is a single measured signal and (Sp,calc )i is a single calculated signal.
For the fundamental we calculated a nMAE(Sp ( f 0 )) = 19.40 % and for the 1st har-
monic nMAE(Sp (2 f 0 )) = 20.83 %. We suspect fluctuations of φ0 caused by external fac-
tors C, e.g., slight temperature changes or fluctuations in the OPO’s emission wavelength
during the measurement to be the reason for the deviations of the experimental results. All
the data used in our analyses are available in the Supplementary Materials, along with a
detailed documented source code.
In real-world applications, the extinction ratio can be rather small; this leads to a
smaller amplitude of Sp ( f m) and may also introduce a higher DC part of the signal
Sp,meas ( f = 0). The response of the transmission to the phase difference and the phase
difference to the voltage of our setup was consistent with the assumption of an ideal MZM.

6. Discussion and Conclusions

The advantages of MZMs in PAS applications are high-frequency modulation, frequency
stability, and versatility for a range of applications in environmental monitoring, biomedical
imaging, and materials science. We use it in combination with an OPO light source in the
mid-infrared region to measure the broadband absorption features of different VOCs.
Instead of calculating the MZM signal in the time domain and then transferring it to
the frequency domain, we provide a mathematical model with which the MZM signal can
be determined directly in the frequency domain. Thanks to this novel method, the signal
amplitudes of different frequencies can be determined efficiently and easily. The model of
a MZM is valid for the case of the triangular voltage modulation of the PS. The analytical
results were validated by measurements with matching parameters for φ0 and φm . We link
the remaining difference between measurement and calculation to experimental uncertain-
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 9 of 11

ties. To reduce the experimental uncertainties, the MZM’s path length difference should be
reduced to minimize the influence of wavelength and temperature on the interferometer.
The new understanding of the frequency domain of the MZM is to be incorporated
into a new voltage control of the PS in the future. It is also conceivable to determine
the wavelength using the signal from the MZM, which would eliminate the need for
an additional wavemeter and represent both a cost reduction and simplification of our
experimental setup.
The presented MZM operates in the mid-infrared region, which is of interest for
many spectroscopic applications, but not easily accessible. It is not often used because the
wavelength dependency of the PS leads to very high half-wavelength voltages, which is
also the reason why our validation is limited to the range of the phase φ0,m from 0 to 0.82π
due to the maximum possible PS voltage. The knowledge gained from this study will be
used in the future to ensure a reliable pure sinusoidal modulation at voltages below the
half-wave voltage.

Supplementary Materials: The following supporting information can be downloaded at https:

//www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/photonics10030337/s1, Source code S1: Python script mzm.py
to generate Figures 2 and 3; Source code S2: Python script mzm_halfwavevoltage.py to generate
Figure 5; Source code S3: Python script mzm_validation.py to generate Figure 6; Data S4: Matlab
formatted data 2022-09-20 SV mzm_voltagesweep.mat used in mzm_halfwavevoltage.py; Data S5:
Matlab formatted data 2022-09-22 SV mzm_fundamental.mat used in mzm_validation.py; Data S6:
Matlab formatted data 2022-09-22 SV mzm_firstharmonic.mat used in mzm_validation.py.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, S.V., Y.S., and M.W.; methodology, S.V. and Y.S.; software,
S.V. and Y.S.; validation, S.V.; formal analysis, S.V. and Y.S.; analytical derivation, Y.S.; investigation,
S.V. and Y.S.; resources, M.W.; data curation, S.V.; writing—original draft preparation, S.V. and Y.S.;
writing—review and editing, S.V., Y.S., and M.W.; visualization, S.V.; supervision, M.W.; project
administration, M.W.; funding acquisition, M.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published
version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: The source code and data used to generate the results presented in
this paper are available at Supplementary Materials. The code was written in Python 3.10 using the
NumPy and SciPy libraries, and the data were processed using custom scripts. The code and data can
be accessed and downloaded for research purposes and are released under the [CC BY 4.0] license.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:

MZM Mach–Zehnder intensity Modulator

AC Alternating Current
DC Direct Current
PAS Photoacoustic Spectroscopy
PS Phase Shifter
OPO Optical Parametric Oscillator
nMAE normalized Mean Absolute Error
LT Lithium Tantalate
Photonics 2023, 10, 337 10 of 11

Appendix A
The following steps refer to the transformation of Equation (9) to (12) in the main text.
We use the properties of convolution with a shifted Dirac delta function

S( f ) ∗ δ( f − a) = S( f − a) (A1)

to transform Equation (9) to (A2)

  
Tm (π f − φm f m ) Tm jφ0 −j(π f −φm fm )Tm /2
S( f ) = sinc e e
4 2
  
(π f + φm f m ) Tm −jφ0 j(π f +φm fm )Tm /2
+ sinc e e
2
  
Tm (π f − φm f m ) Tm −jφ0 j(π f −φm fm )Tm /2
+ sinc e e
4 2
  
(π f + φm f m ) Tm jφ0 j(π f +φm fm )Tm /2
+ sinc e e
2
+ sDC Tm sinc(π f Tm ). (A2)

By factoring out, we can simplify Equation (A2) to

  
Tm (π f − φm f m ) Tm  jφ0 −j(π f −φm fm )Tm /2 
S( f ) = sinc e e + e−jφ0 ej(π f −φm fm )Tm /2
4 2
  
(π f + φm f m ) Tm  −jφ0 −j(π f +φm fm )Tm /2
+ sinc e e + ejφ0 ej(π f +φm fm )Tm /2
2
+ sDC Tm sinc(π f Tm ) (A3)

with the use of cos( x ) = 0.5ejx + 0.5e−jx and utilizing Tm = 1/ f m , we obtain the much
shorter and simpler form.

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