Distribution of Microwave Signals Using Space Division Multiplexing Technique

This work describes the use of a photonic lantern (PL) acting as a multiplexer to distribute microwave signals. The microwave signals are coded on filtered passband signals. The passband signals are obtained by using a Microwave Photonic Filter (MPF) whose operation is based on the use of the chromatic dispersion parameter of the optical fiber. The PL transmits RF signals centered at 1.29 GHz, 2.59 GHz, and 3.88 GHz. This proposal is situated in the area of Space Division Multiplexing (SDM). Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is used to demonstrate the transmission of microwave signals using the LP01, LP11a, and LP11b modes. In particular, a series of numerical simulations using the VPIphotonics Software is carried out. Simulation results are corroborated by a series of experiments. The measurement of the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) parameter is used to evaluate the quality of the microwave transmitted signals.