Photonic-Assisted Microwave Frequency and Phase Shifter for Deception Jamming

Abstract

A new microwave photonic signal processing structure that has the ability to realise frequency and phase shifting operation is presented. The proposed structure uses Serrodyne phase modulation in a dual-polarisation binary phase shift keying (DP-BPSK) dual-drive Mach Zehnder modulator to shift the frequency of an input microwave signal. This has the advantage over the conventional frequency mixers that the unwanted frequency components adjacent to the frequency translated microwave signal can be largely suppressed. It is suitable for use in deception jamming in electronic countermeasures systems. The phase shifting operation is realised by controlling the bias voltages of the DP-BPSK modulator. The dual-function microwave photonic signal processor has a simple structure and a wide bandwidth. The structure enables commercial modulator bias controllers to be used to provide long-term stable performance. Experimental results are presented that demonstrate a wide operating frequency range of 3 to 16 GHz, an over 35 dB suppression on the spurious signals and 0° to 360° phase shift on the frequency translated microwave signal. Using bias controllers to maintain a large spurious suppression ratio of around 35 dB is also demonstrated.