Wideband RF photonic phase shifter with a full 360° phase tunable range

A novel photonic approach to the implementation of RF photonic phase shifter is proposed. It is based on a polarization dependent optical phase modulator and a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator. The phase shift of RF signal has a predefined linear relationship with the dc bias voltage of the optical phase modulator. This enables users to easily determine the control voltage needed to realize the desired phase shift of RF signal. It can realize multiple photonic RF phase shifters simultaneously applied in optical controlled Phased Array Antennas. Results show the RF phase shifter can achieve a continuous −180 ∼ phase shift with little phase and amplitude variations over a wide frequency range.