All-Dielectric Photonic-Assisted Radio Front-End Technology

Research | All-Dielectric Photonic-Assisted Radio Front-End Technology

The threats to civil society posed by high-power electromagnetic weapons are viewed as a grim but real possibility in the world after September 11, 2001. These weapons produce a power surge capable of destroying or damaging sensitive circuitry in electronic systems. Unfortunately, the trend towards circuits with smaller sizes and voltages renders modern electronics highly susceptible to such damage. RF communication systems are particularly vulnerable, because the antenna provides a direct port of entry for electromagnetic radiation. To address this problem, we have proposed and

demonstrated an all-dielectric photonic-assisted receiver. This RF receiver front-end features a complete absence of electronic circuitry and metal interconnects, the traditional ‘soft spots’ of a conventional RF receiver. The device exploits a dielectric resonator antenna to capture and deliver the RF signal onto an electro-optic field sensor. The dielectric approach has an added benefit in that it reduces the physical size of the front end, an important benefit in mobile applications.

[1] “Dielectric wireless receiver,” Wikipedia
[2] R. C. J. Hsu, A. Ayazi, B. Houshmand, and B. Jalali, “All-dielectric photonic-assisted radio front-end technology,” Nature Photonics 1, 535 (2007)
[3] A. Ayazi, R. C. J. Hsu, B. Houshmand, W. H. Steier, and B. Jalali, “All-dielectric photonic-assisted wireless receiver,” Optics Express 16, 1742 (2007)