Design and Optimization of Photonics-Based Beamforming Networks for Ultra-Wide mmWave-Band Antenna Arrays

In this chapter, we review the worldwide progress referred to designing optical beamforming networks intended to the next-generation ultra-wideband millimeter-wave phased array antennas for incoming fifth-generation wireless systems, which in recent years is under the close attention of worldwide communication community. Following the tendency, we study in detail the design concepts below true-time-delay photonics beamforming networks based on switchable or continuously tunable control. Guided by them, we highlight our NI AWRDE CAD-based simulation experiments in the frequency range of 57–76 GHz on design of two 16-channel photonics beamforming networks using true-time-delay approach. In the first scheme of the known configuration, each channel includes laser, optical modulator, and 5-bit binary switchable chain of optical delay lines. The second scheme has an optimized configuration based on only 3-bit binary switchable chain of optical delay lines in each channel, all of which are driven by four lasers with wavelength division multiplexing and a common optical modulator. In the result, the novel structural and cost-efficient configuration of microwave-photonics beamforming network combining wavelength division multiplexing and true-time-delay techniques is proposed and investigated

Modeling and Simulation in Microwave-Photonics Applications

In this chapter, with the goal to recover an optimal mean for computer-aided modeling and simulating a newer class of microwave-photonics-based radio electronic apparatuses, a number of comparative simulation experiments for the basic microwave band electronic devices and systems using well-known software tools referred to photonic design automation or upgraded electronic design automation platforms are carried out. As a result, it is shown that exploiting the software of upgraded electronic design automation platform provides significantly better accuracy of calculations for the devices and systems of this class