Novel device concepts for microwave photonics functionalities

The paper addresses two microwave photonics functionalities based on device potentialities. The first one is related to the specific use of a mode locked (multi-section) laser diode in the analog domain where different modulation functions can be achieved. The second one deals with the specific design of a photodetector aiming to separately detect multiple modulated input beams and to group the resulting photocurrents into a single one. This leads to build an optoelectronic "add" function that can be used, for example, in microwave photonics signal processing applications such as optical beamforming networks for phased array antennas.