Photonic angle-of-arrival and time-dif ference-of-arrival measurement based on dual drive 1 \times 2 MZM

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a photonic approach to estimate the time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) and the angle-of-arrival (AOA) of a microwave signal. TDOA and AOA are estimated from the carrier power difference of the two outputs of the Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) using only one dualdrive 1×2 MZM. Experimentally, the TDOA of a microwave signal at 3 GHz from 27.78 to 166.67 ps is measured with maximum measurement errors of ±2.24 ps; correspondingly, the AOA from 60• to 85.2 • is measured with maximum measurement errors of ±0.4• .