»Introduction

IPHOBAC Key-facts

Project acronym: IPHOBAC
Project full title: Integrated Photonic mm-Wave Functions For Broadband Connectivity
Proposal/Contract no.: 035317
Start date of contract: 1. June 2006
Project duration: 3 years
Total EC contribution: 5.7M€ (total budget: 11M€)
Coordinator: Dr. Andreas Stöhr (Universität Duisburg-Essen, Germany)
Partner: 11 partners from 6 countries (6 industrial, 3 research center, 4 universities)

Project Summary

The operational frequency range of several potential applications, which include fixed services, broadband wireless access, short range nomadic services, indoor communication, radar and security as well as instrumentation applications is already in the millimeter-wave region or is expected to be extended into the millimeter-wave region within the next 5-10 years. IPHOBAC will develop a new photonic based mature transmitter and receiver technology to support those applications.

IPHOBAC aims at developing innovative millimeter-wave photonic components and integrated functions generically based upon the combination of radio and optics technologies. IPHOBAC has a set of innovative approaches for the development of millimeter-wave photonic components and integrated functions for the generation, the modulation and the emission of millimeter-wave signals. IPHOBAC ambitious objectives will bring millimeter-wave photonics components and integrated functions to a level of maturity such that take-up actions by industry will be ensured. The new integrated functions enabled by IPHOBAC will support multiple mm-wave applications in broadband telecommunications, security, radar, and instrumentation.

Advanced and compact photonic sources will be developed, including spectrally pure, highly stable millimeter wave sources and ultra-wide tuneable sources and transceivers with integrated antennas. These compact sources can neither be implemented by any extension of individual optics nor individual radio technologies. They will be used in Gbit/s radio-over-fiber systems, optically controlled antennas and instrumentation applications.

IPHOBAC integrates a chain of partners, from academic to industrial ones, from technology centers over component manufacturers to end-users, all known for their previous achievements in microwave photonic components and technologies. The joint efforts will bring millimeter-wave photonic components for generation and detection of high purity millimeter waves to a level of maturity enabling commercial exploitation.

To achieve these goals, relevant demonstrators will be developed to respond to the needs of high-performance source technology for the above mentioned applications.

Please feel free to have a look at the updated IPHOBAC Flyer. (download pdf, 932 kB)

IPHOBAC Key Objectives

The focus of this project is the use of microwave photonic techniques, which merge radio wave and photonics technologies, to develop integrated photonic functions operating in the millimeter wave frequency range (30 – 300 GHz) for applications in telecommunication systems, security and instrumentation fields.
The main objectives of this proposal are summarized as follows:

• To develop advanced photonic sources based on quantum dot mode-locked DBR (with integrated modulator section) and dual-mode DFB/DBR laser structures for the generation of millimeter-wave signals;
• To develop ultra-wideband high power photomixers based on UTC and TW photodiodes for integration with antennas;
• To develop ultra-wideband transmitters based on a travelling-wave electroabsorption modulator approach (up to 110 GHz);
• To develop a transceiver dedicated to 60 GHz duplex communication based on a reflective electroabsorption modulator integrated with a semiconductor optical amplifier.
• To develop a very compact and low power requirement, tuneable optical mm-wave source with integrated antenna, to be used up to 300 GHz and beyond;
• To develop an integrated optical phase locked loop to achieve high purity mm-waves signals, associated with the mm-wave photonic source;
• To implement photonic vector modulator and demodulator schemes employing the components developed in IPHOBAC and demonstrate the wireless transmission of a 10 Gbit/s signal in a laboratory environment;