On an Optical Correlator for Ultra-Wideband Microwave Signals Using Time-Space-Conversion

In ultra-wideband (UWB) receivers microwave signals with bandwidths of several hundred MHz up to several GHz have to be processed. This paper presents a study on a optical correlation receiver using the time-space-conversion principle. Analytical formulations of the signal path in an optical space-integrating correlator with a diffraction grating as dispersive element and a matched filter are given. The correlator's performance under the impact of additive white Gaussian noise as well as of single-tone jammers is numerically determined. The processing of a measured UWB input signal at a data rate of 100 Mbit/s is provided to prove its functionality for real, non-ideal input signals.