Photonics-Based De-Chirping and Leakage Cancellation for Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave Radar System

A photonics-based leakage cancellation and echo signal de-chirping approach for frequency-modulated continuous-wave radar systems is proposed based on a dual-drive Mach–Zehnder modulator (DD-MZM). The de-chirp reference signal and the leakage cancellation reference signal are combined and applied to the upper arm of the DD-MZM, while the received signal, including the leakage signal and echo signals, is applied to the lower arm of the DD-MZM. When the amplitudes and delays of the leakage cancellation reference signal and the leakage signal are precisely matched, the leakage signal is canceled in the optical domain. The de-chirped signal is obtained after the leakage-free optical signal is detected in a photodetector. An experiment is performed. The cancellation depth of the leakage signal after de-chirping is around 23 dB when the center frequency and bandwidth of the linearly frequency-modulated signal are 11.5 and 2 GHz, respectively. When the leakage cancellation is not employed, the leakage will seriously affect the imaging results and distance measurement accuracy. When the leakage cancellation is enabled, the imaging results of multiple targets can be clearly distinguished, the distance measurement error of a moving target is significantly reduced to less than 10 cm, and a dynamic range increase of 21 dB is achieved.