I am wonderring if we can compare them to FWM and XPM in nonlinear optics:
intermodulation vs FWM (four wave mixing):
- both generate new frequencies
cross modulation vs XPM (cross phase modulation):
- XPM in optics concerns the light intensity in one frequency will cause the real part of index thus phase change in another frequency;
- cross modulation in RF component concerns the power (& or with modulation) in one frequency will cause the imaginal part of index thus gain change (& or with modulation) in another frequency.
all the above are of the 3rd order nonlinear effect.