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Photonics
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Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications
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Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Communication and Network".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 October 2025 | Viewed by 1258

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhike Zhang

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Guest Editor
Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: microwave photonics; optoelectronic devices; Si photonic integration optoelectronic package technology
Dr. Hui Gao

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Guest Editor
National Defense Key Laboratory of Antenna and Microwave Technology, 14th Research Institute of China Electronics Science and Technology Group Corporation, Nanjing 210039, China
Interests: application of microwave photonics in phased array radar; hybrid integration of optoelcetronics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Microwave photonics has attracted enhanced attention due to its high bandwidth, low loss, and immunity to electromagnetic interference. This interdisciplinary area combines the high-speed capabilities of photonics with the well-established technology of microwaves, leading to innovative solutions in telecommunications, radar, and wireless systems. Microwave photonic devices are the core functional components of microwave photonic systems, typically consisting of lasers, modulators, detectors, photonic filters and optoelectronic oscillators. In order reduce the size and power consumption of these systems, microwave photonic integration will become an important area of research.

This Special Issue, entitled “Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications”, welcomes the submission of theoretical, numerical, and experimental papers that address advances in the field. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • High-efficiency optoelectronic devices, such as semicoductor laser/modulator/PD, etc;
  • Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (SOAs) with a high output power and low noise figure;
  • Optoelectronic oscillator (OEOs)
  • Microwave photonic links with a high dynamicrange and low noise figure;
  • Silicon-based integrated photonic chips or devices;
  • Advanced photonic integration packaging technology;
  • Modeling and analysis of microwave photonic devices and links

Dr. Zhike Zhang
Dr. Hui Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microwave photonics
  • optoelectronic devices
  • photonic integration optoelectronic package

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 3648 KiB  
Article
Compact Optical 90° Hybrid on a Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Platform Used for Integrated Coherent Transceivers
by Haolei Feng, Yuqiong Chen, Zheyuan Shen, Man Chen, Hanyu Wang, Jianguo Liu, Suo Wang and Zeping Zhao
Photonics 2025, 12(5), 459; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12050459 - 9 May 2025
Viewed by 248
Abstract
A 90° optical hybrid employing an MMI coupler was fabricated on a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform that can be used for integrated coherent transceivers. The fabricated 90° optical hybrid exhibited a CMRR greater than 20 dB, a phase error below ±7.5°, and [...] Read more.
A 90° optical hybrid employing an MMI coupler was fabricated on a thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) platform that can be used for integrated coherent transceivers. The fabricated 90° optical hybrid exhibited a CMRR greater than 20 dB, a phase error below ±7.5°, and an excess loss less than 1.8 dB (including contributions from the 90° hybrid, a 1 × 2 MMI coupler, and an optical delay line, after subtracting the losses from the coupler and delay line, the 90° optical hybrid introduced less than 0.9 dB of loss) over the C-band with a compact footprint of 13.8 × 250 μm2, facilitating the future development of high-bandwidth optical coherent transceivers heterogeneously integrated on TFLN. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications)
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10 pages, 3552 KiB  
Article
Generation of Tunable Coherent Tri-Frequency Microwave Signals Based on Optoelectronic Oscillator
by Nan Zhang, Zexuan Kong, Huiyun Tang, Chao Luo, Yumo Lei, Ming Li, Ninghua Zhu and Wei Li
Photonics 2025, 12(5), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12050457 - 8 May 2025
Viewed by 286
Abstract
We report a coherent tri-frequency microwave signal generation approach using an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO). In the previous literature, the OEO-based schemes can only generate coherent microwave signals with dual frequencies. In this work, we demonstrate that the generation of coherent tri-frequency microwave signals [...] Read more.
We report a coherent tri-frequency microwave signal generation approach using an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO). In the previous literature, the OEO-based schemes can only generate coherent microwave signals with dual frequencies. In this work, we demonstrate that the generation of coherent tri-frequency microwave signals is also possible using an OEO loop. The key component in our scheme is a tri-passband electrical filter, which has a narrow passband in the middle and two wide passbands on both sides. The OEO loop initially oscillates at the central frequency of the narrow passband with a single-tone f1. By injecting a microwave signal, finj, into the OEO loop, down- and up-converted microwave signals at frequencies of f2 = f1 − finj and f3 = f1 + finj, respectively, are generated by frequency mixing in a microwave mixer. The two wide passbands of the electrical filter allow the oscillation of the converted signals at a wide frequency bandwidth by simply tuning the frequency of the injected signal. Moreover, the tri-frequency microwave signals are phase-locked through frequency mixing and mutual injection locking. The proposed scheme is theoretically analyzed and experimentally validated. In the experiments, coherent tri-frequency microwave signals with low phase noise are successfully generated at a fixed frequency of 14 GHz and two tunable frequency ranges from 9 to 12 GHz and from 16 to 19 GHz, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications)
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11 pages, 2910 KiB  
Communication
A Broadband Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Modulator Using an Electrode with Dual Slow-Wave Structures
by Peng Wang, Dechen Li, Tian Zhang, Jinming Tao, Xinwei Wang, Jianguo Liu and Jinye Li
Photonics 2025, 12(5), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12050452 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 243
Abstract
With the rapid development of information technology, the global data volume has been continuously expanding, placing unprecedented demands on communication networks to accommodate precipitously increasing throughput. Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) modulators, characterized by their large theoretical bandwidth, low half-wave voltage, and suitability for [...] Read more.
With the rapid development of information technology, the global data volume has been continuously expanding, placing unprecedented demands on communication networks to accommodate precipitously increasing throughput. Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) modulators, characterized by their large theoretical bandwidth, low half-wave voltage, and suitability for high-density integration, show great application potential in high-speed optical modules and optical interconnection networks. However, the persistent issue of velocity mismatch between radio frequency (RF) signals and optical carriers invariably hinders the utilization of higher-frequency bands, which restricts the modulation speed of the fabricated devices. In this paper, an electrode co-loaded with square serrations and T-shaped stubs was utilized to achieve precise velocity matching and excellent impedance matching. Leveraging this approach, a TFLN modulator chip with an electro-optic bandwidth far exceeding 67 GHz and a return loss of greater than 12 dB was successfully fabricated on a silicon substrate. The velocity of RF signals can be tuned by altering the lengths of the slow-wave structures, which provides guidance for the design and optimization of broadband modulators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications)
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15 pages, 8047 KiB  
Article
Compact Four-Channel Optical Emission Module with High Gain
by Xiying Dang, Linyi Li, Man Chen, Zijian Hu, Tianyu Yang, Zeping Zhao and Zhike Zhang
Photonics 2025, 12(5), 425; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12050425 - 28 Apr 2025
Viewed by 203
Abstract
In this paper, a four-channel optical emission module is developed using hybrid integration technology that integrates directly modulated laser (DML) chips, low-noise amplifier (LNA) chips, and control circuits, with dimensions of 24.4 mm × 21 mm × 5.9 mm. This module enables high-gain [...] Read more.
In this paper, a four-channel optical emission module is developed using hybrid integration technology that integrates directly modulated laser (DML) chips, low-noise amplifier (LNA) chips, and control circuits, with dimensions of 24.4 mm × 21 mm × 5.9 mm. This module enables high-gain signal output and minimizes crosstalk between neighboring channels while improving integration. An equivalent circuit model of radio frequency (RF) signal transmission is established, and the accuracy of the model and the effectiveness of the approach to improve signal gain are verified using simulations and experiments. With optimized thermal management, the module has the ability to operate at stable temperatures across an ambient range of −55 °C to 75 °C. The module has a channel wavelength spacing of approximately 1 nm, and the −3 dB bandwidth of each channel exceeds 20 GHz. The crosstalk between neighboring channels is less than −65 dB. In the range of 0.8~25 GHz, the four-channel gain is approximately 15 dB through the integration of the LNA chip. The module achieves a noise figure (NF) of less than 30 dB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microwave Photonics: Science and Applications)
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