Photonic generation of multi-frequency phase-coded microwave signal based on a dual-output Mach-Zehnder modulator and...

A photonic scheme to generate a multi-frequency phase-coded microwave signal based on a dual-output Mach-Zehnder modulator (DOMZM) and balanced detection is proposed in this paper. The DOMZM driven by an electrical coding data modulates a coherent multi-wavelength light source (CMWL), and a balanced photodetector (BPD) demodulates the output of the DOMZM; as a result, a multi-frequency phase-coded microwave signal is generated. Experiments generate two two-frequency phase-coded signals: one is 5GHz/10GHz signal with a coding rate of 2Gb/s, and the other is 10GHz/20GHz signal with a coding rate of 4Gb/s. Their autocorrelation results show a good pulse compression capability. Each frequency of a two-frequency signal has similar performances with the other in terms of peak-to-side lobe ratio (PSR) and the full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the main lobe. The proposed scheme can be applied to radar to reduce false detections in adverse conditions. With its potential flexible frequency agility, it can be used for jamming resistance and elimination of the Doppler blind speed during moving target detection.