Coherent photonic true-time-delay beamforming system for a phased array antenna receiver

Photonic true-time-delay (TTD) beamformers, as a microwave photonic technique, provide solutions to some important drawbacks of broadband wireless communication systems, radar and satellite communications. However, scalability limitations may arise when increasing the number of antennas. In this paper, a new concept of a photonic TTD beamforming network for phased array antennas (PAAs) is presented and its control system described. This photonic TTD beamformer relies on tunable optical delay lines (TODLs) implemented by Mach-Zehnder delay interferometers (MZDIs) with tunable coupling ratio, thus allowing the continuous tuning of the TODLs. Results show that the proposed TTD beamforming is scalable up to a considerable number of PAAs. In addition, its architecture is directly implementable in photonic integrated circuits.

[1]  Irwin L. Newberg,et al.  The first demonstration of an optically steered microwave phased array antenna using true-time-delay , 1991 .

[2]  R Soref.  Optical dispersion technique for time-delay beam steering. , 1992, Applied optics.

[3]  R. Loo,et al.  Photonic wideband array antennas , 1995 .

[4]  M. Wu,et al.  A novel multiwavelength optically controlled phased array antenna with a programmable dispersion matrix , 1996, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[5]  H. Zmuda,et al.  Photonic beamformer for phased array antennas using a fiber grating prism , 1997, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[6]  Beatriz Ortega,et al.  Variable delay line for phased-array antenna based on a chirped fiber grating , 2000 .

[7]  José Capmany,et al.  Microwave photonics combines two worlds , 2007 .

[8]  R N Nogueira,et al.  Photonic True-Time Delay Beamforming Based on Polarization-Domain Interferometers , 2010, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[9]  Leimeng Zhuang,et al.  Novel Ring Resonator-Based Integrated Photonic Beamformer for Broadband Phased Array Receive Antennas—Part II: Experimental Prototype , 2010, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[10]  Leimeng Zhuang,et al.  Novel Ring Resonator-Based Integrated Photonic Beamformer for Broadband Phased Array Receive Antennas—Part I: Design and Performance Analysis , 2010, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[11]  Tunable Optical Dispersion Compensator Based on Power Splitting Between Two Dispersive Media , 2010, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[12]  Xiaoke Yi,et al.  Photonic Beamforming Based on Programmable Phase Shifters With Amplitude and Phase Control , 2011, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[13]  K. Williams,et al.  Microwave photonics , 2002 .

[14]  David Hillerkuss,et al.  Continuously tunable true-time delays with ultra-low settling time. , 2015, Optics express.

[15]  Roelof Bernardus Timens,et al.  Integrated optical beamformers , 2015, 2015 International Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics (MWP).