Demonstration of a wideband photonic phased array using integrated optical RF phase shifter based on the vector sum approach

In this paper, a wideband photonic phased array antenna is demonstrated. The array configuration consists of a 4x1 Vivaldi single-polarization antenna array and an independent photonic phasing system for each element. The phasing network of this array is implemented using two novel photonic phase shifters based on the vector summation approach. A vector sum phase shifter (VSPS), which can be continuously tuned from 0-100° frequency-linear from DC to 15 GHz, is presented along with a novel second harmonic VSPS (SH-VSPS), which can provide continuously tunable phase shifts in the range 0-430° which is linear over a bandwidth from 8-16 GHz. This paper presents the operation and characterization of each component of the array including the radiation elements and the various photonic phase shifters and finally, a demonstration of the combined system. A discussion on the practicality of this system for airborne applications is presented along with suggestions for simplification and improvement.