System-level performance evaluation of microwave fiber-optic links

Future generations of phased array radar systems as well as steerable communication antennas will require feed and distribution to many hundreds-possibly thousands-of solid-state MMIC radiating elements. In phased arrays operating at millimeter-wave frequencies, backplane interface and signal distribution methods will need to fulfill strict performance criteria. The metallic waveguides and coaxial cables currently used as phased array backplane interconnects will be unable to meet these stringent requirements. At millimeter-wave frequencies, where array backplane congestion is a major problem, distribution of the RF and digital control signals using optical fiber offers significant weight and crosstalk immunity advantages. To realize all the benefits of optical fiber signal distribution in a phased array, the single most critical development is the high-performance RF fiber-optic link. Some radar and communication systems, however, have such stringent transmit and/or receive performance goals which may not be easily met with conventional fiber-optic links. Fulfilling such difficult performance criteria requires prudent link architecture design. Before choosing a fiber-optic link design approach, it would benefit the phased array antenna system designer to possess a means of determining what RF performance could be expected. To do this, the designer needs a means of verifying that the mixing, modulation, and detection methods and the devices selected will result in a link with high-fidelity performance at the RF design frequencies. This work provides just such a design tool. In order to identify how best to leverage the advantages of optical fiber signal distribution in a microwave or millimeter-wave phased array, this thesis will investigate the optical link architectures that offer the maximum potential for achieving high-performance, low-profile array backplane interfaces. To assist the designer in the choice of signal mixing technique, modulation scheme, and electronic and photonic components that will yield the best combination of fiber-optic link characteristics (i.e., gain, noise figure, dynamic range, etc.) over a given frequency band, accurate link modeling techniques are set forth, verified experimentally, and then employed to evaluate the suitability of the various architectures to specific applications.