Conventional microwave photonic link is realized by using intensity modulation method to complete the electro-optical conversion. Since the Mach-Zender interference structure (MZI) is used for the intensity modulator, the system performance is not only restricted by its own sine-like response characteristics, but also additional bias controller is needed to maintain the bias point. Hence the dynamic range is limited, and also 3dB inherent loss due to quadrature point will decrease the transmission efficiency. Phase modulation can avoid these problems. In this paper, two methods to convert phase modulation to intensity modulation by using optical filter through sideband suppression and sideband passing are proposed, and the relationship between link RF performance and device parameters is also analyzed. Finally, the performance between the phase modulated link and the conventional intensity modulated link are measured and compared. The results show that the phase modulated link has higher transmission efficiency under the condition of same link configuration, and the 3dB bandwidth of the phase modulated link is twice larger than that of the intensity modulated link due to the equalization effect of optical filtering.