Broadband photonic beam processor for simultaneous beamforming and high-resolution imaging

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Engineering
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Traditional beam steering in phased arrays often involves mechanical components or complex electronic systems.
• Integrated photonic solutions offer potential for miniaturization and enhanced functionality in radar and communication systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a broadband photonic beam processor for all-optical multifunction integrated receivers.
• To demonstrate simultaneous imaging and non-mechanical beam pointing capabilities.
• To evaluate the performance and compare it with existing microwave photonic modules.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing space-to-time and time-to-frequency mapping for optical beam multi-domain processing.
• Implementing echo signals within a 4-element phased array in the Ka band.
• Conducting proof-of-concept experiments to obtain 2D images of moving targets.

Main Results:

• Achieved non-mechanical beam pointing at 0° and 12.5° with simultaneous 2D imaging of targets.
• Measured a suppression ratio of 26.8 dB to regions outside the beam.
• Obtained range and cross-range imaging resolution of 0.042 m × 0.051 m.
• Demonstrated a system loss reduction of 32.4 dB compared to cascaded single-function modules.

Conclusions:

• The proposed photonic beam processor enables multifunctionality in integrated receivers.
• It offers reduced system complexity and power consumption for multi-element broadband phased arrays.
• This technology paves the way for more advanced and efficient optical beamforming systems.