Radar-Optimized Opto-Electronic Oscillator for Missile Defense and Multi-Function Radar

OEwaves, Inc. proposes to develop a novel radar-optimized opto-electronic oscillator (ROEO) that will generate reference signals in the X-band and at higher frequencies with extremely low phase noise. The ROEO will deliver the same performance as the bestexisting high-end laboratory oscillators-which are large, expensive, and fragile rack-mounted instruments-but in a robust module the size of a 9V battery that is inexpensive and consumes little power.At the end of Phase II, we expect a prototype ROEO to achieve phase noise of -150 dBc/Hz measured at a 10 kHz offset from the center of an 8-12 GHz oscillator. The ROEO's small size, power consumption, and cost will make it suitable for parallel deploymentin every row of transmitter/receiver modules of a phased array radar. This distributed oscillator architecture can suppress the equivalent aggregate system phase noise to below -170 dBc/Hz (at 10 kHz offset). The need for oscillators with improved phasenoise performance in smaller, less expensive packages extends beyond phased array radar to civilian aerospace radar, satellite communications, point-to-point ground-based microwave communications nodes, local multi-point distribution services (LMDS),mobile phone base stations, and scientific instrumentation and test equipment.