A Photonic Beamforming Network Based on Phase Shifters for Microwave Wide-Band Applications (original) (raw)
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IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 2018
In the last years, beamforming has become a hot research topic, due to the perspective of its massive deployment in the RF access segment of future 5G mobile networks. This paper is a review of some possible implementations reported in literature of photonic integrated circuits for the realization of phase shift-based beamforming networks for radiofrequency signals, suitable for future 5G communications. The results demonstrate the possibility of ultrafast beamsteering reconfiguration (~1 ns), large applied phase shift (>400°), stable operation at high carrier frequencies (tens of GHz) over a wide signal bandwidth (~ 6 GHz), and low power consumption (tens of mW).
A Novel Fast Switching Photonic Phase Shifter for Ka-Band
2020
Photonic phase shifters for Ka-band have been used in satellite communication and in many other communication systems. In these applications speed, bandwidth, power consumption and size have become more significant. In communication systems beamforming with fast switching phase shifters has special importance for Ka band. Integrated microwave photonics allow the implementation of phase shifters. We propose a novel architecture for photonic phase shifter with switching time of about 30 to 52 fs .as compared to existing architecture. The phase shifter architecture has been designed with DC tunable ring resonator, S-bend waveguide switch and nanowire DC tunable phase shifter. The designed nanowire waveguide for DC tunable ring resonator, S-bend waveguide switch and DC tunable phase shifter has been simulated using OptiFDTD as well as with MATLAB.
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This paper presents a system for optoelectronic beam steering of a phase antenna array. The microwave signal from an RF generator controlled by a pulse generator is transmitted to the electrical input of an optical elevation control unit, which generates N microwave signals with independent amplitude and phase. The control unit utilizes an optical wave from a laser. All outputs of those control units are connected to inputs of N optical azimuth control units, which provide M linear element antennas control. Those units utilize an optical wave from a second laser. This way an M x N element of a planar antenna control is provided. The presented method is compared with the classical and electronic method, which consists of multi-bits microwave phase shifters for producing an electronic scanning effect. On the basis of this concept we realized 16-element linear antenna array printed on a dielectric substrate fully controlled by an optoelectronic system. A tuned wavelength laser in the range 1520-1600 nm and 10 mW optical output power has been used as an optical signal source. The optical signal is modulated by a microwave signal. The applied modulator operates in the third optical window, allowing optical signal modulation to 10GHz. Very high resolution and an excellent accuracy of the antenna beam positioning can be achieved. The optimal technique depends on the number of antenna elements, which implicates beam width. The presented method is preferred for very narrow antenna beams.
Journal of Lightwave …, 2010
An experimental prototype is presented that illustrates the implementation aspects and feasibility of the novel ring resonator-based optical beamformer concept that has been developed and analyzed in Part I of this paper . This concept can be used for seamless control of the reception angle in broadband wireless receivers employing a large phased array antenna (PAA). The design, fabrication, and characterization of a dedicated chip are described, in which an 81 optical beamforming network, an optical sideband filter for single-sideband suppressed carrier modulation, and a carrier re-insertion coupler for balanced optical detection are integrated. The chip was designed for satellite television reception using a broadband PAA, and was realized in a low-loss, CMOS-compatible optical waveguide technology. Tuning is performed thermo-optically, with a switching time of 1 ms. Group delay response and power response measurements show the correct operation of the OBFN and OSBF, respectively. Measurements on a complete beamformer prototype (including the electro-optical and opto-electrical conversions) demonstrate an optical sideband suppression of 25 dB, RF-to-RF delay generation up to 0.63 ns with a phase accuracy better than /10 radians, and coherent combining of four RF input signals, all in a frequency range of 1–2 GHz.
Lightwave …, 2010
A novel optical beamformer concept is introduced that can be used for seamless control of the reception angle in broadband wireless receivers employing a large phased array antenna (PAA). The core of this beamformer is an optical beamforming network (OBFN), using ring resonator-based broadband delays, and coherent optical combining. The electro-optical conversion is performed by means of single-sideband suppressed carrier modulation, employing a common laser, Mach-Zehnder modulators, and a common optical sideband filter after the OBFN. The unmodulated laser signal is then re-injected in order to perform balanced coherent optical detection, for the opto-electrical conversion. This scheme minimizes the requirements on the complexity of the OBFN, and has potential for compact realization by means of full integration on chip. The impact of the optical beamformer concept on the performance of the full receiver system is analyzed, by modeling the combination of the PAA and the beamformer as an equivalent two-port RF system. The results are illustrated by a numerical example of a PAA receiver for satellite TV reception, showing that—when properly designed—the beamformer hardly affects the sensitivity of the receiver.
Demonstration of a photonically controlled RF phase shifter
IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components Letters, 1999
Integrated photonic radio frequency (RF) phase shifters with dc voltage control have been realized using a nested dual Mach-Zehnder modulator configuration in a new nonlinear optical polymer, CLD2-ISX. These modulators have a Vπ of 10.8 V and exhibit excellent frequency performance measured up to 20 GHz. A near linear phase shift exceeding 108° was obtained for a 16-GHz microwave signal by tuning the dc control voltage over a 7.8-V range. It is expected that these integrated polymer phase shifters will find widespread applications in new types of lightweight optically controlled phased array systems
Silicon-photonics-based wideband radar beamforming: basic design
Optical Engineering, 2010
Proposed is silicon-photonics-based phased array antenna beamforming for high-resolution long-range radars with wide instantaneous radio frequency ͑rf͒ bandwidth. Specifically, the proposed siliconphotonics beamformer platform offers the potential for cost-effective monolithic chip-scale integration of photonic delay lines, 2 ϫ 2 optical switches, variable optical attenuators, and optical amplifiers that form the base unit of a rf transmit/receive array signal processor. In effect, the proposed silicon-photonics devices empower the design of a powerful proposed photonic beamformer with one time-delay unit per antenna element. Device-level designs studies are shown that promise meeting the high-resolution radar mission-critical requirements via time delays of up to 2.5 ns, switching times of less than 100 ns, optical isolations as good as 50 dB, and optical gains of up to 6 dB. Longer delays are achieved off chip using optical fibers. © 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.