Advancements in RF photonics for signal processing applications on avionic platforms

The maturity of RF photonic components has reached the point where fiber optic links are being system tested to replace traditional copper coax links on avionic platforms. Many demonstrations of RF photonic links have been made with traditional and non-traditional modulation formats [1-4] to improve the RF performance of the link. While the advantages of RF photonic links in regard to size and weight are indeed important, the large instantaneous bandwidth of the fiber optic links is a key driver for the use of this technology in the airframe. As signals of interest evolve to higher frequencies, the use of RF photonics provides a path to identify and catalog these new signals. With the acceptance of the fiber optic link as a replacement to coax, the next step is to move the photonic technology to provide signal processing capability in the optical domain before converting back to an electrical signal. The current challenges are to continue to explore new photonic technologies for improved RF performance at the receive end of the link. This paper will focus on advancements in RF photonic solutions for signal processing.