EARS: A Wideband Frequency-Agile Silicon Photonic mm-Wave Receiver with Automatic Jammer Suppression via Rapidly Reconfigurable Optical Notch Filters

未来具有超宽瞬时带宽和快速动态调谐的多功能无线电具有巨大的潜力，可以增加无线宽带通信，并使雷达、射电天文学和传感系统共存。然而，在小型无线电系统的尺寸、重量和功率目标范围内，使用传统电子滤波器实现所需的频率选择性、调谐范围和速度水平存在根本限制。射频（RF）光子学技术是一种很有前途的候选者，可以使这些宽可调谐接收器在宽频谱范围内具有快速动态调谐的宽带宽。硅射频光子滤波器提供非常高的选择性，多ghz调谐范围，并在芯片规模的无线电系统快速动态调谐。然而，缺乏对初始滤波器响应的高精度自动校准和调整，光子调制器对接收器性能的非线性影响以及整体前端灵敏度是现有硅射频光子接收器的主要缺点。本提案通过采用纳米级互补金属氧化物半导体（CMOS）电子器件，以及硅光子滤波和调制器来解决这些重要问题，用于自动滤波器响应校准，干扰抑制，调制器自适应线性化和低噪声前端电路。在本研究中开发的接收器架构将允许实现无线通信、雷达和传感应用的小型变革性无线电。本提案的研究目标是开发新型芯片级硅光子毫米波接收器前端架构，在由纳米CMOS芯片智能控制的绝缘体上硅（SOI）光学芯片中实现高性能光子滤波和调制，从而实现快速滤波器重构和干扰抑制。为了实现这一目标，将研制一种具有自动抑制干扰的硅光子毫米波接收机。将设计能够快速电子重构的新型硅光子光学滤波器，并开发用于光学带定义带通滤波器调谐和用于抑制干扰的动态陷波滤波器放置的算法和硬件。新的CMOS原型将包括滤波器调谐回路，具有自适应线性化的调制器驱动器，以及用于使用拟议的硅光子芯片进行测试的前端电路。将所提出的技术应用于未来的小尺寸宽带多功能无线电，将产生大的瞬时带宽和快速动态滤波，目前在最先进的集成电子宽带多功能无线电中无法实现。该项目将包括一个涉及6名学生（3名研究生和3名本科生）的跨学科教育计划，并有广泛的教师承诺参与外展活动。这些活动包括参与“电气和计算机工程拔掉插头”和“女性工程师协会”等项目，以吸引高中生参加为期一周的夏令营，并通过“工程丰富体验”（E3）项目与高中教师进行持续互动。项目成果将广泛传播，包括在题为“射频硅光子学”的新研究生课程的教学大纲和网站上，并通过在国内和国际期刊和会议上发表。

Future multi-function radios with ultra-wide instantaneous bandwidth and rapid dynamic tuning have great potential to enable increases in wireless broadband communications, and co-existence of radar, radio astronomy, and sensing systems. However, there are fundamental limitations to achieving the required level of frequency selectivity, tuning range and speed using conventional electronic filters within the size, weight, and power targets of radio systems with small form factors. Radio frequency (RF) photonics technology is a promising candidate to enable these widely tunable receivers with wide bandwidth over a broad spectral range with rapid dynamic tuning. Silicon RF photonic filters provide very high selectivity, multi-GHz tuning ranges, and rapid dynamic tuning for radio systems at a chip-scale. However, lack of automatic calibration and adjustment of the initial filter response with very high accuracy, the non-linear effect of the photonic modulator on the receiver performance, and overall front-end sensitivity are major drawbacks of existing silicon RF photonics receivers. This proposal addresses these important issues by employing nano-scale complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics, along with the silicon photonic filtering and modulator, for automatic filter response calibration, jammer suppression, modulator adaptive linearization, and low-noise front-end circuitry. The receiver architectures developed in this research will allow the realization of transformative radios with small form factors for wireless communications, radar, and sensing applications.This proposal's research goal is to develop novel chip-scale silicon photonic mm-wave receiver front-end architectures, with high-performance photonic filtering and modulation implemented in a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) optical chip intelligently controlled by a nanometer CMOS chip to allow for rapid filter reconfiguration and jammer rejection. To accomplish this goal, a silicon photonic mm-wave receiver with automatic jammer suppression will be developed. Novel silicon photonic optical filters capable of rapid electronic reconfiguration will be designed and algorithms and hardware for optical band-definition bandpass filter tuning and dynamic notch filter placement for jammer rejection will be developed. Novel CMOS prototypes will include filter tuning loops, modulator drivers with adaptive linearization, and front-end circuitry for testing with the proposed silicon photonic chips. Applying the proposed technology into future wideband multi-function radios with small form factors would yield large instantaneous bandwidth and rapid dynamic filtering, currently not available in state-of-the-art integrated electronic wideband multi-function radios. This project will include an interdisciplinary educational program involving 6 students (3 graduate and 3 undergraduate), with extensive faculty commitment in engaging outreach activities. These activities include involvement in programs such as Electrical and Computer Engineering Unplugged and The Society of Women Engineers one-week summer camps to attract high school students, and on-going interactions with high school teachers via the Enrichment Experiences in Engineering (E3) program. Project results will be broadly disseminated by inclusion in the syllabi and website of a new graduate course entitled "RF Silicon Photonics" and through publication in national and international journals and conferences.