Electromagnetic-Attack-Resistant Modulator

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop an electro-optic modulator that can withstand electromagnetic attacks (EMAs) in all their forms: nuclear electromagnetic pulse, high-power microwave, and ultra-wideband. The modulator is a modified form of our state-of-the-art low-Vpi lithium niobate Mach-Zehnder modulator, so it will simultaneously enable a low-noise-figure photonic link and provide protection from EMAs. A microwave-photonic link using this modulator can be used wherever a photonic link is normally used, or it can be added to other electronic systems to provide a protected path for received signals that isolates the electronic system from its antenna. The hardened microwave-photonic links developed here eliminate any metallic connection between the antenna and the protected system, the protection is always on (instantaneous response), and the recovery time after a pulse is very short (~250 microseconds); to our knowledge, this performance is superior to any existing protection technology.