Switched photonic delay line for phased array antenna control using externally modulated microwave fiber-optic link

The first demonstration of a 4-bit binary photonic delay line using ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) devices and externally modulated s/c band fiber-optic link is presented. A Mach-Zehnder integrated-optic modulator is used to modulate the light. This photonic delay line uses FLC optical on/off devices for optical path switching and active polarization noise filtering. Three dimensional imaging optics and antireflection coated optics are used to minimize photonic delay line insertion losses and interchannel crosstalk. Signal-tonoise ratio measurements as well as interchannel isolation crosstalk analysis is performed