Photonics-enabled wideband microwave burst detection

In this Letter, to the best of our knowledge, a novel wideband microwave burst detection system is realized by utilizing photonics-assisted wavelength and time division multiplexing, in conjunction with optical storage. Deploying a coherent electro-optical dual comb and a recirculating optical frequency shifter with ∼1.28 μs round-rip delay, the proof-of-concept experimental system demonstrates the interrogation of ∼1 μs radio frequency (RF) bursts with up to an 8 GHz bandwidth and arbitrary hopping pattern at 1 MHz resolution and a refresh rate of ∼60 kHz using an 80 MHz RF detection unit. The proposed system can be easily upgraded to higher bandwidths and longer burst time apertures with suitable hardware.