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Updated: Jul 6, 2026
05:57
Characterization of SiN Integrated Optical Phased Arrays on a Wafer-Scale Test Station
Published on: April 1, 2020
Two-dimensional optical architectures for the receive mode of phased-array antennas
L Pastur1, S Tonda-Goldstein, D Dolfi
1Thomson-CSF/Laboratoire Central de Recherches, Domaine de Corbeville, 91404 Orsay Cedex, France.
Applied Optics
|March 6, 2008
Summary
Two novel optical architectures were demonstrated for processing phased-array antenna signals using free-space optics. These systems efficiently handle microwave signals by manipulating optical carriers, enabling advanced antenna signal processing.
Area of Science:
- Optical Engineering
- Antenna Systems
- Microwave Photonics
Background:
- Phased-array antennas are crucial for modern wireless communication.
- Efficient processing of received signals is essential for antenna performance.
- Optical methods offer potential advantages in high-frequency signal handling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate two distinct optical architectures for processing received signals from phased-array antennas.
- To leverage free-space optics and optical carriers for microwave signal manipulation.
- To investigate different approaches for optical transposition and local oscillator generation.
Main Methods:
- Development of two free-space optical architectures for phased-array antenna receive mode processing.
- Utilizing channelized optical carriers for microwave signal transmission and switching.
- Implementing direct optical transposition in the first architecture.
- Employing optical generation and distribution of a matched microwave local oscillator in the second architecture.
Main Results:
- Successful experimental demonstration of the proposed optical architectures.
- Validation of free-space propagation and switching of channelized optical carriers.
- Preliminary results presented for microwave frequencies around 3 GHz.
- Demonstration of two distinct signal processing strategies in the optical domain.
Conclusions:
- The proposed optical architectures are viable for processing phased-array antenna receive modes.
- Free-space optical signal processing offers a promising approach for microwave frequencies.
- The demonstrated methods provide flexible solutions for advanced antenna systems.
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