In this work, we present a novel microwave photonic signal processor tailored for beamforming applications in very-high throughput communication satellites. Analytical and numerical simulations for a satellite receiver payload architecture are presented, as well as a proof-of-concept experiment. Results show the possibility of separating multiple spatially multiplexed beams using this system. At the core of the design is the use of wavelength division multiplexing and a programable photonic processor, capable of producing dynamic, complex-valued, and arbitrary optical filtering. The scalability and applicability in space applications is discussed.

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Rui Oliveira, Rogério N. Nogueira, and Miguel V. Drummond, "A photonic beamformer based on complex-valued filtering of wavelength-division multiplexed signals," Proc. SPIE 11852, International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2020, 118523S (Presented at International Conference on Space Optics — ICSO 2021: 11 June 2021; Published: 11 June 2021); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2599621.