Microwave Photonic Cancellers

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Microwave Photonic Cancellers (MPCs) are powerful interference mitigation systems which have been utilized to address electronic warfare applications such as jamming, co-located antennas, and frequency hopping. Cancellers, unlike filters, address in-band interference, actively matching and subtracting reference interference signals from corrupted received signals to dramatically suppress interference. While MPCs have typically address applications of self-interference, they can be paired with additional RF systems to address blind interferers.  

An MPC captures the processing requirements of cancellation in the optical domain. First, upconverting the RF signals onto optical carriers, matching and subtracting the signals optically, before down conversion back into the RF domain. This microwave photonic process turns the entire RF spectrum into an effectively narrowband signal, allowing Bascom Hunter’s MPC to remove 40 dB of interference power over GHz of instantaneous bandwidth and up to 65 dB of interference removal in a narrowband MHz range. Additionally, the system has a very high dynamic range of 109.5 dB/Hz2/3 and an operating range of 40 GHz. 

While Bascom Hunter currently offers MPC development within the silicon photonic and discrete optical domain. MPCs have also been integrated into the Indium Phosphide and Silicon Nitride platform for special applications. This technology enabled robust and dynamic wireless communication within a hostile and unpredictable electronic warfare environment.  

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