Abstract
Communication systems today are being powered by landline optical fiber connections and wireless microwave links. As the need for data traffic and low-latency increases with 5G and future 6G systems, these modes of communication need to become increasingly intertwined. The field of microwave photonics bridges this gap, encoding wireless microwave signals onto an optical carrier wave, allowing long-distance transport over fiber and signal processing in the optical domain. While such functions have already proven to work in fiber-based systems, the use of photonic chips can make these more compact, cheaper and therefore more widely used. Photonics integrated circuits combine a variety of optical functions on a single chip: light generation, modulation, filtering and detection, all of which are essential for the processing of information and signals. Modulators translate a microwave signal to the optical domain, where filters based on ring resonators or Mach-Zehnder interferometers can be used to filter out frequency bands or equalize the spectrum, and photodetectors can convert the modulated optical signal back to the microwave domain. By connecting these different functions together into larger circuits with configurable connectivity, and making every element tunable, it becomes possible to create a multi-functional analog signal processor. We will present our recent results in realizing such programmable photonic systems for signal processing. One example includes a self-contained microwave photonic signal processing engine, featuring transfer-printed lasers, a programmable modulator (both phase and amplitude modulation), multi-pole ring-based filters and high-speed photodetectors. The driver control electronics then configure the system to act as a black-box microwave processor, an optical filter, or an analog transmitter, receiver, or both. When integrated with external components, this system becomes opto-electronic oscillator or a frequency converter. Related Research Topics
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