A photonic variable RF delay line for phased array antennas

Toughlian, Edward N.; Zmuda, Henry

doi:10.1109/50.62877

Cited by 59 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…One of these techniques, acousto-optic optical heterodyning, that appeared to produce large 100 ns) time delays was presented [68]. However, the physical origin and limitations of the time delay mechanism were not fully understood [69].…”

Section: Phased-array Antennasmentioning

confidence: 98%

Microwave Photonics—A Historical Perspective

Berceli

Herczfeld

2010

IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Techn.

135

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Microwave photonics is a rapidly-growing interdisciplinary field linking microwave and optical technologies. This paper intends to trace the evolution of microwave photonics over the last three decades emphasizing some major research areas and application fields. Currently, microwave photonics is a vivid research area with several practical applications. In this paper, we attempt to project potential future trends as well.Index Terms-Analog fiber-optic link, microwave photonics, optical control, optical generation of microwave signals, optical signal processing, phased-array antennas, radio-over-fiber (RoF) links.

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Section: Phased-array Antennasmentioning

confidence: 98%

Microwave Photonics—A Historical Perspective

Berceli

Herczfeld

2010

IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Techn.

135

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“…By electronically controlling the relative phase shifts among successive radiating elements of the array, the direction of the radiated beam can be precisely steered. However, for the phase-delay approach with a fixed set of phase shifts 's, the radiated beam will drift by an amount of whenever the microwave frequency is changed by an amount of [1]. The drifting of the beam angle due to the change in frequency leads to a drop of the antenna gain in the direction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

High packing density 2.5 THz true-time-delay lines using spatially multiplexed substrate guided waves in conjunction with volume holograms on a single substrate

Chen

1997

J. Lightwave Technol.

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A 3-bit true-time-delay lines device having a packing density of 5 lines/cm 2 with a minimum delay step of 100 ps is designed, fabricated and demonstrated. This device is based on substrate guided wave propagation combined with slanted photopolymer volume phase gratings. In this paper, we report the delay and bandwidth measurements for the 3-bit delay lines fabricated on BK-7 glass substrates with a substrate bouncing angle of 45 . The power fluctuation among the outputs due to the cascading fanout effect (a serious drawback for real system applications) is experimentally investigated as well. A power fluctuation controlled to within 610% is achieved. A femtosecond laser pulse is sent through the device and a bandwidth measurement of up to 2.5 THz is obtained. The delay step is measured by employing an ultrafast photodetector together with a sampling scope. The true-time-delay device presented herein has the potential to be integrated with photodetector arrays due to its planar structure on a single substrate together with the surface normal fan-in and fan-out features.

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“…Recently, Toughlian and Zmuda, 1 Toughlian et al, 2 and Zmuda and Toughlian 3,4 developed an rf true time delay phase shifter, based on a heterodyne optical system, that can act as a beamformer for high performance, wideband phased array radar systems. Sumberg 5 and Baldwin 6 have investigated means for integrating the optical system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical diffraction effects in a photonic delay line

Monsay

1997

Opt. Eng

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Accurate, low-noise, wideband phased array radar antennas depend on the use of true time delays between microwave elements. A photonic means of generating the required element-to-element phase shifts was developed by Toughlian and Zmuda for systems operating in the VHF frequency range, and extended by Monsay and Caccuitto for operation in the radar C band. The photonic beamformer is based on a heterodyne optical system, in which the reference beam acts as a probe of the acoustic wave in the acousto-optic (AO) cell. It is apparent that the benefits of this photonic system rely greatly on the ability of the probe beam to pick out just the right phase shift/time delay from the acoustic waveform in the AO cell. A basic limitation to system performance could come from intrinsic diffraction effects due to the finite beamwidth of the probe in the AO cell. In addition, the finite size of the photodetector in the system will have an effect on the final SNR. These effects have been studied in detail and their implications for design and performance of the photonic beamformer are discussed. © 1997 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. [S0091-3286(97)01312-3]

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A photonic variable RF delay line for phased array antennas

Cited by 59 publications

References 7 publications

Microwave Photonics—A Historical Perspective

Microwave Photonics—A Historical Perspective

High packing density 2.5 THz true-time-delay lines using spatially multiplexed substrate guided waves in conjunction with volume holograms on a single substrate

Optical diffraction effects in a photonic delay line

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