Integrated Ultra‐Wideband Dynamic Microwave Frequency Identification System in Lithium Niobate on Insulator

Abstract

The capability to identify the frequency of unknown microwave signals with an ultra‐wide measurement bandwidth is highly desirable in radar astronomy, satellite communication, and 6G networks. Compared to electronic solutions, the integrated photonic technology‐enabled dynamic instantaneous frequency measurement (DIFM) approach is attractive as it offers unique advantages, such as ultra‐wide frequency measurement bandwidth, high flexibility, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. However, so far the bandwidth of the reported DIFM systems based on integrated photonic technology is limited to below 30 GHz due to the finite bandwidth of electro‐optical modulators (EOMs), limiting their applications, particularly in the field of millimeter wave technology (30–300 GHz). Here, the first integrated dynamic microwave instantaneous frequency measurement system with a record‐breaking operation bandwidth (ranging from 5 to 65 GHz) and low root‐mean‐square (RMS) error (≈300 MHz) is presented on the lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) integrated photonic platform. This demonstration paves the way for high‐performance millimeter wave photonic integrated devices using the LNOI platform.

Integrated ultra-wideband tunable Fourier domain mode-locked optoelectronic oscillator

“…[33][34][35] On the other hand, the LNOI is compatible with inexpensive wafer-scale fabrication techniques, enabling mass commercialization. [36,37] In recent years, a number of optical devices and systems with unprecedented performance metrics have been reported in LNOI, [38][39][40][41][42][43][44] paving the way for the LNOI platform to be applied to various integrated microwave photonic applications in the future.…”