Optical control of phased array elements

There has been considerable interest in simplifying the feed network in phased array antennas by the use of optical fibres. These offer the advantages of low loss, extremely wide bandwidth, small size and weight and low cost when compared with waveguide, microstrip or coaxial alternatives. However, the use of fibre signal distribution introduces optical/electrical interfaces at each end of the fibre, and these introduce limitations of their own. The authors discuss the fibre feed problem from the systems viewpoint and describe some of the work aimed at developing new components for the optical/electrical interface