Fiber optics for microwave applications

Recently significant progress has been made in fiber-optic components and technology applicable to microwave (analog) systems; several unique microwave functions have been implemented in the fiber-optic domain. Along with or because of these technical advancements, acceptance of photonics for microwave systems has been expanding. This tutorial will review some of the current capabilities and limitations of fiber optics (primarily for wideband applications) as divided into four areas: sources/generation, receivers/detection, transmission, and microwave signal processing (including beamforming, filtering, switching, variable delay, and microwave circuit control). The advantages and disadvantages of different approaches are evaluated