Photonic Generation and Wireless Transmission of Linearly/Nonlinearly Continuously Tunable Chirped Millimeter-Wave Waveforms With High Time-Bandwidth Product at W-Band

We demonstrate a novel scheme for photonic generation of chirped millimeter-wave (MMW) pulse with ultrahigh time-bandwidth product (TBP). By using a fast wavelength-sweeping laser with a narrow instantaneous linewidth, wideband/high-power photonic transmitter-mixers, and heterodyne-beating technique, continuously tunable chirped MMW waveforms at the W-band are generated and detected through wireless transmission. Compared with the reported optical grating-based wavelength-to-time mapping techniques for chirped pulse generation, our approach eliminates the problem in limited frequency resolution of grating, which seriously limits the continuity, tunability, and TBP of the generated waveform. Furthermore, by changing the alternating current (AC) waveform of the driving signal to the sweeping laser, linearly or nonlinearly continuously chirped MMW pulse can be easily generated and switched. Using our scheme, linearly and nonlinearly chirped pulses with record-high TBPs (89-103 GHz/ 50 μs/7 × 10⁵) are experimentally achieved.