Integrated antenna/electro-optic modulator for RF photonic front-ends

We present an efficient, integrated antenna/electro-optic modulator assembly for RF photonic front-ends in phased array applications. The integrated radiator/photonic device incorporates a non-contact fed stacked patch antenna that has been designed to radiate efficiently between 9 – 11 GHz and is easily coupled to the Lithium Niobate Mach-Zehnder modulator, requiring minimal modification to the electrode structure of this photonic device. We discuss the design procedure for the integrated assembly, the predicted characteristics of the antenna in this environment and test a proof-of-concept version of the module. Finally we verify the performance of the module through a link demonstration.