Compact Radio Frequency-to-Optical Transmitter for Airborne Military Environments

We propose to design and develop an approach for realizing a compact RF-Optical Transmitter with an overall volume of less than 150 cm3. Such a package will address current military airborne needs for higher bandwidth performance and lower size, weight, and power (SWaP). The designed module will meet important RF link specifications including an RF bandwidth exceeding 18 GHz, RF noise figure below 25 dB, an optical power of greater than 20 mW from a single-mode fiber, and a spurious-free dynamic range above 110 dB-Hz3/2. We will use a recently developed 1550 nm CW laser with a relative intensity level of below -165 dBc/Hz over all RF frequencies between 1 to 18 GHz, and a demonstrated linewidth < 2 kHz. The package will be designed to maintain performance over the entire temperature range of -40 to 100 oC and will use a higher level of component integration, a small volume CW laser, and the miniaturization of the electronic control boards to significantly reduce the package size. The work performed will enhance and lower risk for demonstrating optimized devices and packages that can be optimized in Phase II and tested in RF photonic links and under airborne environmental conditions.