Abstract
Dispersive Fourier transformation (DFT) maps the broadband spectrum of an ultrashort optical pulse into a time stretched waveform with its intensity profile mirroring the spectrum using chromatic dispersion. Owing to its capability of continuous pulse-by-pulse spectroscopic measurement and manipulation, DFT has become an emerging technique for ultrafast signal generation and processing, and high-throughput real-time measurements, where the speed of traditional optical instruments falls short. In this paper, the principle and implementation methods of DFT are first introduced and the recent development in employing DFT technique for widespread microwave photonics applications are presented, with emphasis on real-time spectroscopy, microwave arbitrary waveform generation, and microwave spectrum sensing. Finally, possible future research directions for DFT-based microwave photonics techniques are discussed as well.
Highlights
Microwave photonics (MWP) [1,2,3,4] is an emerging interdisciplinary area that investigates the interaction between microwave and optical waves, for widespread applications ranging from defense applications, such as radar [5,6] and electronic warfare systems [7], to civil applications, such as wireless [8,9] and satellite [10] communications, imaging [11] and instrumentation [12]
In [59], near-field Dispersive Fourier transformation (DFT) has been investigated for generating high fidelity microwave waveforms, which is made possible by pre-distorting the optical pulse before stretching
Most of DFT-based systems are designed to operate in the 1550 nm band, to take advantage of available high-quality dispersive devices, e.g., Dispersion compensation fibers (DCF), and the low-cost photonic devices developed for fiber optic communications in this wavelength band
Summary
Microwave photonics (MWP) [1,2,3,4] is an emerging interdisciplinary area that investigates the interaction between microwave and optical waves, for widespread applications ranging from defense applications, such as radar [5,6] and electronic warfare systems [7], to civil applications, such as wireless [8,9] and satellite [10] communications, imaging [11] and instrumentation [12]. With the help of high-speed time-domain modulation and detection technology, DFT enables ultrafast pulse-by-pulse spectroscopic measurement and manipulation. With this unique capability, DFT has become a powerful tool for high-throughput and real-time measurement where traditional instruments fall short [32,38]. DFT has been widely employed in a diverse range of microwave photonics applications, such as microwave arbitrary waveform generation [23,39], microwave spectrum sensing [40,41], photonic. Its widespread applications in microwave photonics systems are discussed, with emphasis on real-time spectroscopy, microwave arbitrary waveform generation, and microwave spectrum sensing.
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