Wide-band nulling system for antenna array based on a photonic microwave filter and optical delay lines

A nulling system for phased array antennas with broad bandwidth and reduced complexity is presented. The system is based on combining the output of an optical beamforming network with an optical transversal filter steered in the angle where a null is desired in a configuration that reduces the number of optoelectronic conversion compared to previous proposals. Preliminary experimental results to show the feasibility of the concept are provided between 2 and 6 GHz, showing null depths of 22, 10 and 19 dB at 2, 5 and 6 GHz, respectively.