Photonic True-Time Delay Beamforming Based on Polarization-Domain Interferometers
Drummond, M. V.
;
Monteiro, P.
;
Nogueira, R.N.
Journal of Lightwave Technology Vol. 28, Nº 17, pp. 2492 - 2498, September, 2010.
ISSN (print): 0733-8724
ISSN (online): 1558-2213
Scimago Journal Ranking: 1,74 (in 2010)
Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109/JLT.2010.2057408
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a novel photonic true-time delay beamforming system for phased array antennas. The system relies on tunable delay lines which are based on Mach–Zehnder delay interferometers (MZDIs) with tunable coupling ratio. As the MZDIs are implemented on the polarization domain, a single op- tical source and a single piece of polarization maintaining fiber are required. The proposed implementation is theoretically assessed and beam squinting is investigated by simulation. A proof-of-con- cept experiment that validates the operation principle of the pro- posed delay lines is presented.
