Continuously variable long microwave-photonic delay of arbitrary frequency-chirped signals

Opt Lett. 2012 Oct 1;37(19):3939-41. doi: 10.1364/OL.37.003939.

Abstract

A generic method for the continuously variable, long microwave-photonic delay of the impulse response of arbitrarily chirped waveforms is proposed and demonstrated. Nonlinear-frequency-modulated waveforms of 500 MHz bandwidth are delayed by tens of nanoseconds. The principle relies on the specific phase-time relations of the waveforms, and is applicable to chirped pulses of arbitrary durations, central radio frequencies, and bandwidths. The approach is suitable for beam steering in large phased-array antennas.