Transient response of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) is studied in an externally-modulated analog link. Double tones represented as transmitted radio frequency and dither signals are introduced. Extra modulation is generated owing to the EDFA's transient response caused by a low-frequency dither signal. Therefore, the parasitic modulation is superposed to the output signals and may significantly affect in-band electrical spectra. Analytical and numerical solutions are both given, which

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... gree well with experimental results. This work indicates that a suitable dither signal should be selected to maximize the carrier to intermodulation ratio. In-band spurious free dynamic range is optimized in the meantime.