Continuous optical beamforming networks based on broadband optical source and chirped fiber grating

Abstract

A novel optical beamforming network scheme based on broadband optical source and Chirped Fiber Grating as true-time-delay module is proposed in the paper. The principle of this scheme is illustrated by theoretical analysis and the feasibility is validated by experiment. In experiment, Er-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) is used as broad band optical source, chirped fiber grating as dispersive element is used for time delay unit, and tunable optical filter is used to choose operation wavelength. In 9.25~10.25 GHz microwave band, optical true time delay performance is measured and results shows that the delay time consistency and the ratio of the RF signal to its noise (SNR) meet the practical demands, and such system has many potentials in optical complexity, cost, tune speed and the system expansibility.