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Updated: May 16, 2026

Microwave Photonics Systems Based on Whispering-gallery-mode Resonators
Published on: August 5, 2013
Highly reconfigurable microwave photonic single-bandpass filter with complex continuous-time impulse responses
Xiaoxiao Xue1, Xiaoping Zheng, Hanyi Zhang
1State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics/Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology, Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
We developed a new microwave photonic filter (MPF) using an incoherent broadband optical source (BOS). This filter offers reconfigurable complex taps for versatile signal processing applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Microwave Engineering
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Microwave photonic filters (MPFs) are crucial for advanced signal processing.
- Existing MPFs often have limitations in tunability and reconfigurability.
- Incoherent broadband optical sources (BOS) offer unique properties for photonic systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and demonstrate a novel MPF structure.
- To achieve arbitrary complex-time impulse responses.
- To enable wide tunability and high reconfigurability in MPFs.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing an incoherent broadband optical source (BOS).
- Employing a programmable optical spectrum processor.
- Tailoring optical spectral amplitude and phase to construct impulse responses.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated arbitrary complex continuous-time impulse responses.
- Achieved frequency responses with single flat-top, highly chirped, and arbitrary shapes.
- Showcased wide tunability of the passband center.
Conclusions:
- This work presents the first incoherent-BOS-based MPF.
- The proposed MPF is single-bandpass, widely tunable, and highly reconfigurable.
- This novel structure opens new possibilities for advanced microwave photonic filtering.
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