Optical Beamformer for 2-D Phased Array Antenna With Subarray Partitioning Capability

This paper proposes an optical beamforming network for a 2-D array antenna in a broad direction range with subarray antenna partitioning capability. With reasonable cost and volume, this optical true time delay beamformer offers multiple beams that are independently steered from each other, while radio-frequency (RF) broadband operation is guaranteed. Radiation patterns of an 8×8 array antenna are calculated and compared with those obtained from the experimental setup. The definition of different subarrays allows presentation of up to four spatially multiplexed beams orientated to different directions according to the concrete application.