Optoelectronic true time delay beamsteering for RF burst spread-spectrum signal transmission

Proven properties of spread-spectrum (SS) RF communications such as interference rejection and large information carrying capability have led to the increased use of SS signaling schemes in RF wireless communications systems. Whether the system engineer seeks to increase the information carrying capability or operate in a low signal-to-noise ratio environment, communications with a broadband RF signal can increase the performance. One might envision an RF bandwidth that is greater than 50% of the RF center frequency. However, in practice, spreading bandwidths are often only a few percent of the center frequency or carrier frequency. A larger spreading bandwidth brings with it the problem of designing directional antennas that will faithfully transmit and receive the SS signal. Photonic beamsteering using true-time delay can be a viable solution to the beam-squint problem. We focus on an interesting approach to generating, transmitting, and steering the broad-band burst mode signals.