We describe the implementation of a self-heterodyne, tunable down converting RF-IF photonic link as a key component of a wideband microwave signal search and intercept system covering S to Ka bands. The presented architecture uses photomixing of two distributed feedback lasers injection locked to a master external cavity laser, allowing low phase to amplitude noise conversion and improved sensitivity. Coherent detection of the intermediate frequency allows unambiguous recovery of full time-domain information. The practical implementation of a packaged prototype system will be discussed, with emphasis on the system stabilization strategy and performance requirements.

Date Published: 22 May 2015
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9467, Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications VII, 946721 (22 May 2015); doi: 10.1117/12.2178541

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9467:
Micro- and Nanotechnology Sensors, Systems, and Applications VII
Thomas George; Achyut K. Dutta; M. Saif Islam, Editor(s)