Photonic dual RF beam reception of an X band phased array ante...

We report dual RF beam reception of an X band phased array antenna using a photonic crystal fiber (PCF)-based delay network. Each incoming RF signal can be independently received, and the angle of arrival can be determined based on the delay time-dependent wavelength. Two RF signals with frequencies 8.4 and 12 GHz impinge upon an X-band antenna array from -7.4 degrees and -21.2 degrees . These signals are detected, and the angle of arrival is determined with a very good degree of accuracy using PCF-based true-time delay. The total number of RF beams that can be simultaneously detected is limited by the hardware availability and the bandwidth of the wavelength differentiation capability of the system.