Optical generator of arbitrary electrical waveform for radar applications

A fibered optoelectronic arbitrary waveform generator for radar applications is demonstrated. The proposed optoelectronic arbitrary radar waveform generator permits to generate predefined electrical waveforms according to radar specifications. Through the use of an optical frequency shifter, a beat signal at the central frequency of the radar is generated in an homodyne optical setup. An original Doppler module based on acousto-optic techniques permits to generate multiple arbitrary frequencies around the central frequency of the radar to simulate the Doppler signature of a target. In this paper, we demonstrate the ability to generate microwave arbitrary waveforms with a radar central frequency from 12 GHz up to 14 GHz with up to 700 Doppler frequency components and more than 17 dB spurious extinction ratio.