NASA Lewis Research Center's optics-in-antennas program

摘要

Abstract: As an integral part of its development of mm-wave phased array antennas, NASA Lewis Research Center has established an Optics- In-Antennas (OIA) program to develop optical technologies required for commercial communications satellite applications and future NASA missions. The thrust of this program is to utilize optical technologies to support the insertion of Ka-band MMICs into phased array antennas, and to identify novel optical techniques that enable improved antenna performance. The OIA program is organized into three basic components: optical control signal distribution, optical rf signal distribution, and optically processed beam forming networks. This paper discusses the developments in each of these areas and identifies future applications and requirements for these technologies. !8