Patent ID: 9002207
Filing Date: 2015-04-07
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. A compact photonic radio frequency front end receiver system, comprising: a laser source chip configured to generate laser light; radio frequency and local oscillator inputs for radio frequency and local oscillator signals; a millimeter scale optical modulator chip coupled to the laser source chip and the radio frequency and local oscillator inputs, the optical modulator chip configured to modulate the laser light with the radio frequency and local oscillator signals, the modulated laser light having an uplink frequency component, a data component, a local oscillator component, and a resulting downlink frequency component; a millimeter scale optical radio frequency multi-pole filter coupled to the optical modulator chip and configured to wavelength lock the laser source chip, wherein the optical radio frequency multi-pole filter comprises at least one channel, each of the at least one channel being configured to form a respective modulated and filtered laser light by separating a respective desired spectral band in the modulated laser light by filtering a respective desired downlink frequency component from all other components of the modulated laser light; a millimeter scale optical switch array chip coupled to the optical radio frequency multi-pole filter and configured to form a modulated, filtered, and switched laser light by switching and combining a respective modulated and filtered laser light of one or more channels of the at least one channel; and a millimeter scale detector chip coupled to the optical switch array chip and configured to mix a desired downlink frequency component of the modulated, filtered, and switched laser light with a carrier recovery signal, both carried by the modulated, filtered, and switched laser light, so as to recover, through a heterodyne process, a radio frequency output of the desired downlink frequency component of the modulated, filtered, and switched laser light.