Advances in and applications of microwave photonics in radar systems : a review

Podbregar, Luka (author), Batagelj, Boštjan (author), Blatnik, Aljaž (author), Lavrič, Andrej (author)

Modern radar systems frequently encounter constraints on bandwidth, transmission speed, and resolution, particularly within complex electromagnetic settings. Microwave photonics (MWP) provides solutions through the integration of photonic elements to improve radar’s functionalities. This review paper examines the question of how to improve radar performance by using MWP-based radar components for signal transmission, local oscillator signal generation, radar waveforming, optical beamforming networks, mixing, filtering, co-site interference suppression, real-time Fourier transformation, and analog-to-digital conversion. MWP radar systems achieve wider bandwidths, greater resistance to electromagnetic interference, and reduced phase noise, size, weight, and power consumption. Consequently, the integration of MWP into radar systems has the potential to increase the accuracy of these systems.

• Language: English
• Keywords: microwave photonics, microwave photonic radar, optical signal processin
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: FE - Faculty of Electrical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 20 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 12, iss. 6, art. 529
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-169495
• UDC: 621.39:621.382.2:535
• ISSN on article: 2304-6732
• DOI: 10.3390/photonics12060529
• COBISS.SI-ID: 237753091
• Publication date in RUL: 30.05.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Photonics
• Shortened title: Photonics
• Publisher: MDPI AG
• ISSN: 2304-6732
• COBISS.SI-ID: 523331609

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: mikrovalovna fotonika, mikrovalovno fotonski radar, optično procesiranje signalov