As part of the European Defense Agency-funded PICTURE project, we have investigated the potential of integrated photonics for radar systems, targeting a photonics-based architecture for electronically scanned active array antenna systems, including multifunctional signal generation and detection. In this context, we have developed integrated photonic transmit and receive modules with up- and down-conversion capability, powered by a mode-locked laser for frequency reference. Key elements such as narrowband optical bandpass filters are evaluated for different technology platforms (silicon-on-insulator and silicon nitride). Perspectives and lessons learned are presented, based on the evaluation of system performance with IF-to-RF and RF-to-IF conversion efficiencies.
For underwater surveillance applications, an all-optical acoustic array technology allows enhanced capabilities compared to conventional piezoelectric antenna in terms of compactness, robustness and large distance remote interrogation through small diameter optical cable. This paper presents the results obtained on a first full optical antenna panel based on an innovative wideband pressure and temperature compensated fiber laser hydrophone. The presented mock-up includes 12 fiber-laser optical hydrophones interrogated through a 4 km lead optical cable.
We report for the first time a multiplexed array of 12 distributed feedback fiber lasers (DFB FLs) on a single
optical fiber, separated by only 100 GHz (0.8 nm) in the C-band. These lasers are pumped by a 200 mW laser
diode at 1480 nm with no apparent impact on the sensor noise floor despite the fact that the residual reflections
from adjacent gratings may be enhanced due to the smaller wavelength separation. Each DFB FL, especially
developed for serial multiplexing, exhibits low lasing threshold typically between 1 and 2 mW, low intensity
noise and very low frequency noise (less than 30 dB re 1 Hz2/Hz at 1 kHz from optical carrier). From these
experimental results, extension to 32 DFB FLs array (on 100 GHz ITU grid) multiplexed on one fiber will be
discussed.
In this paper, an all-fiber Brillouin laser ring cavity using a 3-m-long suspended-core chalcogenide As38Se62 fiber
is reported for the first time to our knowledge. For a nonresonant ring cavity with no servo-locking, a laser
threshold power of 37 mW and an efficiency of 26 % were obtained for a fiber having a core diameter of 5 μm.
The linewidth of the Brillouin fiber laser and the pump laser were respectively measured to be below 4 kHz,
the resolution of our autocorrelator, and 250 kHz, thus showing the linewidth-narrowing nature of the Brillouin
laser. This result paves the way to compact Brillouin lasers with low threshold power and good spectral purity.
A full experimental Brillouin characterization is also reported. We measured a Brillouin gain spectrum of 14.2
MHz, a Brillouin gain coefficient of 5.6x10-9 m/W and a Brillouin frequency shift of 7.95 GHz in our fiber.
We compare, thanks to a Sagnac interferometer, the phase sensitivity to strain of different microstructured
optical silica fibers (MSF) that we design and fabricate. Our results show that when a same elongation is applied
to different MSF, the induced phase change is equal or lower than the one obtained for a standard fiber, showing
no advantage on this parameter for sensing applications.
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