Photonic based phase-encoded RF signal generation for advanced radar
systems with a 49GHz soliton crystal micro-comb optical source
Abstract
We demonstrate photonic RF phase encoding based on an integrated
micro-comb source. By assembling single-cycle Gaussian pulse replicas
using a transversal filtering structure, phase encoded waveforms can be
generated by programming the weights of the wavelength channels. This
approach eliminates the need for RF signal generators for RF carrier
generation or arbitrary waveform generators for phase encoded signal
generation. A large number of wavelengths—up to 60—were provided by
the microcomb source, yielding a high pulse compression ratio of 30.
Reconfigurable phase encoding rates ranging from 2 to 6 Gb/s were
achieved by adjusting the length of each phase code. This work
demonstrates the significant potentials of this microcomb-based approach
to achieve high-speed RF photonic phase encoding with low cost and
footprint.