Microwave Photonics: Devices, Systems and Emerging Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Despite its potential—including effective communication, unprecedented integration with wireless systems, and precision in measurement and sensing—microwave photonic technology faces numerous challenges. In recent decades, microwave photonics has emerged as a powerful interdisciplinary field that leverages the advantages of photonics to generate, distribute, process, and measure microwave and millimeter-wave signals. As optical and wireless systems continue to converge, microwave photonics provides unique benefits such as broad bandwidth, low transmission loss, high-frequency agility, electromagnetic immunity, and seamless integration with both communication and sensing platforms.

Recent advances in integrated photonics have further accelerated progress in this area. The development of compact, stable, and broadband photonic integrated circuits has enabled new microwave photonic signal processors, sources, filters, and measurement systems with greatly enhanced performance, robustness, and scalability. These innovations are increasingly driving high-performance applications in communication networks, radar systems, electronic warfare, and precision timing and sensing.

Microwave photonic techniques have demonstrated clear advantages in a wide range of measurement and signal-processing tasks, including spectrum analysis, instantaneous frequency measurement, microwave channelization, Doppler-shift detection, angle-of-arrival estimation, phase-noise characterization, and emerging quantum technologies—where microwave photonics plays an increasingly important role in coherent control, low-noise signal distribution, and quantum-to-classical interface architectures.

To strengthen scientific dialogue and support the continued growth of this rapidly advancing field, this Special Issue aims to gather original research articles and reviews from leading experts. We seek contributions addressing both fundamental advancements and emerging applications of microwave photonics, with a focus on novel device concepts, system architectures, theoretical modeling, and experimental demonstrations. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Photonic generation and processing of microwave and millimeter-wave signals;
• Integrated microwave photonics and hybrid electronic–photonic platforms;
• Microwave photonic filters, beamformers, and signal processors;
• Photonic techniques for spectrum monitoring and frequency measurement;
• Microwave photonic sensing and instrumentation;
• Photonic-enabled radar, communication, and navigation systems;
• Ultra-low phase-noise microwave and optical sources;
• Emerging applications in quantum technologies, security, biomedical sensing, and industrial systems;
• Microwave photonics for quantum communication, control, and measurement systems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Bostjan Batagelj
Guest Editor

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.

• microwave photonics
• next-generation optical access networks
• optical-technology-based timing systems
• satellite communications
• radars
• quantum technology