Novel Photonic RF Spectrometer

Leveraging on recent breakthroughs in broadband photonic devices and components for RF and microwave applications, SML proposes a new type of broadband microwave spectrometer with performance and affordability that were not attainable before. The photonic microwave spectrometer overcomes the constrains associated with microwave electronics, linearly and simultaneously offering 6-18 GHz (potentially up to 100 GHz) bandwidth, high resolution of sub-hundred MHz, and huge numbers of channels (hundreds to 1024 channels). The devices and components used in the proposed novel spectrometer are commercial off-the-shelf. Our miniature low cost design is well suited for the spectrum monitor and sensor requirement for a wide range of NASA, military and commercial applications. Our unconventional flight qualifiable approach eliminates the need for frequency down-converter, moving components, local oscillator, and has intrinsically temperature independent operation. In Phase I, SML will test an evaluation prototype to demonstrate the proposed novel RF/microwave spectrometer based on high performance components and build a system model to simulate and verify spectrometer's design and performance.