Photonic generation and programmable switching of variable-band chirped waveforms with immunity to power fading

A photonic approach for generating and programmable switching variable-band chirped waveforms by using a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator (DPMZM) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. By coupling binary switching codes with the baseband chirped signal and applying them into the RF input port of DPMZM, the variable-band chirped waveforms can be generated and fast switched. The switching speed is consistent with the input code bit rate. Moreover, by properly adjusting the bias voltages, the generated signals can be anti-dispersion transmitted over different distances. Full experimental verification on the generation and programmable switching of the chirped waveforms centered at 2.1, 6.3, and 8.4 GHz or 1.5, 4.5, and 6 GHz over 10 or 20 km standard single-mode fibers with 4 or 100 Mbps switching rates are successfully carried out. The proposed approach features compact architecture, programmable switching capability and immunity to power fading, which are significant in distributed multifunction radar networks with optical fiber-based transmission.