Multi-delay photonic correlator for wideband RF signal processing

Correlation of radio-frequency (RF) signals is a fundamental operation in many fields such as information processing, detection, and imaging techniques at large. Because the intrinsic limitations electronic techniques, standard digital correlators, which rely on acquisition their become very complex to implement for real-time analysis whose bandwidth exceeds few hundred MHz. On other hand, analog correlators are limited by performances RF components. In this paper, we report proof-of-concept correlator architecture based simple photonic platform, suitable wideband signal processing. The concept, multi-heterodyne interferometry, gives access real time entire correlation function two computing cross coefficients 200 values relative delay simultaneously. time-delay step can be adjusted from ns down ps, enabling us process with MHz multi-GHz bandwidth. We have applied localization transmitters difference arrival (TDoA) obtained precision close 10 ps 100 ms integration time. This concept expected find practical applications various domains, radar warfare telecommunications, imaging, radio-astronomy.