Optically controlled phased arrays - Latest techniques

Abstract

It is over a decade that, with the availability of high speed semiconductor laser diodes and photodiodes, and low loss optical fibers, the concept of the optically fed active phased array antennas has become feasible. Through the authors early studies they identified four functions in which fiberoptic (FO) links can improve the performance of the large aperture phased arrays. This paper presents examples of how the following four functions can be implemented in phased arrays.