Optical beam forming for large antenna arrays based on dispersive and non-dispersive true-time delays

Abstract

In this contribution, it is shown how the number of optical sources in WDM-based optical beamforming networks can be reduced. In optical beamforming networks based on several optical carriers and a dispersive medium a correspondence is established between each optical carrier and each antenna element. However, it is feasible to reduce the number of optical sources of the architecture if the optical carriers are reused by means of the combination of dispersive and non-dispersive time delays. To sum up, this contribution shows how WDM optical beamforming architectures can be simplified combining dispersive and non-dispersive time delays to allow the use of photonic beamforming techniques in large antenna arrays. The number of optical sources of the beamformer, as well as its total size and cost, can be highly reduced using this technique. Experimental results validating the feasibility of the technique are provided.