OPTICAL SIGNAL DISTRIBUTION IN LARGE PHASED ARRAYS

THE PROPOSED WORK IS CONCERNED WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF SIGNALS THROUGH A FIBEROPTIC NETWORK IN LARGE PHASED ARRAY ANTENNAS UTILIZED FOR RADAR AND COMMUNICATION PURPOSES. SPECIFICALLY, SMALL SCALE SUBARRAY CONSISTING OF NINE ELEMENTS WILL BE DESIGNED, FABRICATED, AND TESTED. THE SUBARRAY WILL UTILIZE A FIBEROPTIC DISTRIBUTION NETWORK TO ROUTE VARIOUS CONTROL AND INFORMATION SIGNALS BETWEEN THE CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT AND THE TRANSMIT/RECEIVE MODULES. THE FIBEROPTIC FEED WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH MMIC TRANSMIT/RECEIVE MODULES.THE FIBEROPTIC FEED PROVIDES FOR SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE IN TERMS OF BANDWIDTH, ISOLATION, AND IMMUNITY TO INTERFERENCE. THE FIBEROPTIC FEED IS ALSO SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT, AND LOW COST, COMBINING IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS IN SPACE-BASED APPLICATIONS, AND IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH STATE OF THE ART OPTICAL SIGNAL PROCESSING AND COMPUTING TECHNIQUES. THE DELIVERABLES FOR THIS PROJECT WILL INCLUDE BOTH ANALYTICAL (SOFTWARE STUDIES) AND HARDWARE (A 3X3 SUBARRAY).