Photonic phase control of microwave signal by a combination of two intensity-modulated lightwaves using a Mach-Zehnder optical switch

Abstract

In next-generation wireless communication, photonic control of a remote array antenna is an attractive technique because it enables both low-loss transmission and high-speed beam forming in the base station. In this paper, we propose a novel remote phase control method with a small phase drift for array antenna driving in a fiber-wireless system. Our idea is based on the combination of two intensity-modulated optical waves at different wavelengths with a constant modulation phase difference, which is produced using wavelength dispersion in the transmission line. The useful features of the proposed method for remote driving of an array antenna are experimentally demonstrated.