Optical processing of phased array antenna signal is presented. The major issue of sending jitter free RF carrier to the antenna, and high throughput processing of multi-beam phased array signal as well as the interference cancellation loop processors are addressed. Phase conjugation processor working with an optical fiber loop is proposed for jitter free RF delivery. An extremely high speed 2-D imaging SLM is proposed for processing of phased array antenna data. The phase I program will establish the feasibility of these proposed technologies by performance analysis, modeling, and experimental demonstration. Preliminary design will be provided for an advanced optical phased array processor system.
Benefits: Major benefits for phased array antenna developments is expected by solving two of the major issues. The jitter free RF delivery system will also be useful for future ultra high speed fiber optic network, and clock delivery in super high speed signal processors.
Keywords: phase conjugation optical processor phased array antenna acousto-optics
