Optically driven ultra-wideband phased array with a novel optical feed network

An optically driven phased array with a novel optical feed network and an ultra-wideband down-conversion module is presented. The proposed technique successfully alleviates phase drift of signal in fibers, therefore allowing for an accurate control of phase in order to achieve beam steering. We also analyzed the excessive noise in the feed network which will lead to spurious beam when beam steering is performed on a phased array. This problem can be mitigated by applying a polarization controller before a phase modulator. In the end, we demonstrate experimental results of a 1×2 Q-band horn antenna array.