Experimental demonstration of a microwave photonic link using an optically phased antenna array for a millimeter wave band

We present a hybrid radiofrequency and microwave photonic link at 25 GHz using the chromatic dispersion of an optical fiber to steer the beam of a three-element planar dipole-based phased antenna array (PAA). Our team has designed and developed an in-house built PAA, experimentally verified its parameters, and successfully demonstrated optically controlled beam steering as measured in an anechoic chamber. Moreover, a detailed analysis of the optically based beam steering in the proposed microwave photonics system has been carried out, with data transmission achieving an error vector magnitude as low as 5.6% for the frequency of 25 GHz and 20 MHz bandwidth.