A compact and fast photonic true-time-delay beamformer with integrated spot-size converters

First results are reported on a very compact InP-based True-Time-Delay beamformer with integrated Spot-size converters, based on a vertical taper. The chip has been designed for controlling the beam of a 4-element microwave patch antenna operating at 40 GHz. The fiber-chip coupling of the SSCs is 3.5 dB