A Microwave Photonic Approach to Ultra-Wideband High-Precision High-Stability Frequency-Hopping Signal Generation

CHEN Bo; SUN Gewen; WANG Guorong; FAN Yanli; MEI Cexiang; KANG Bochao; GAO Yongsheng

doi:10.11999/JEIT260679

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CHEN Bo, SUN Gewen, WANG Guorong, FAN Yanli, MEI Cexiang, KANG Bochao, GAO Yongsheng. A Microwave Photonic Approach to Ultra-Wideband High-Precision High-Stability Frequency-Hopping Signal Generation[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT260679

Citation:

CHEN Bo, SUN Gewen, WANG Guorong, FAN Yanli, MEI Cexiang, KANG Bochao, GAO Yongsheng. A Microwave Photonic Approach to Ultra-Wideband High-Precision High-Stability Frequency-Hopping Signal Generation[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT260679

Citation:

CHEN Bo, SUN Gewen, WANG Guorong, FAN Yanli, MEI Cexiang, KANG Bochao, GAO Yongsheng. A Microwave Photonic Approach to Ultra-Wideband High-Precision High-Stability Frequency-Hopping Signal Generation[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT260679

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A Microwave Photonic Approach to Ultra-Wideband High-Precision High-Stability Frequency-Hopping Signal Generation

doi: 10.11999/JEIT260679 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT260679

1.
College of Physics & Electronic Engineering, Xianyang Normal University, Xianyang 712000, China
2.
China Academy of Space Technology Xi’an Branch, Xi’an 710021, China
3.
School of Electronics and Information, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710021, China
4.
Shaanxi Chint Intelligent Electric Co., Ltd., Xianyang 712000, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.62171734, No.62301437), Shaanxi Key R&D Program Project (No.2025NC-YBXM-199), Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Basic Research Program (2025JC-YBMS-094), Key Cultivation Project of Xianyang Normal University (XSYK25029)

Received Date: 2025-05-25
Accepted Date: 2026-09-15
Rev Recd Date: 2026-08-18

Available Online: 2026-09-22

Abstract

Abstract

Objective The new-generation anti-jamming satellite communication systems in China impose urgent demands on frequency-hopping signal generation technologies that simultaneously possess ultra-wide bandwidth, fast hopping rate, and high stability. Conventional electronic schemes are constrained by the “electronic bottleneck,” making it difficult to achieve both ultra-wideband coverage and high-precision control. Existing photonic frequency-hopping methods still share common deficiencies in frequency stability, number of hopping frequencies, and spurious suppression. To address these issues, this paper proposes and explores a microwave photonic ultra-wideband high-precision high-stability frequency-hopping signal generation method based on acousto-optic frequency shifting. Methods The continuous optical wave generated by a narrow-linewidth laser serves as the optical carrier and is equally split into two paths by an optical splitter. In the upper path, the optical carrier is first modulated by a DPMZM to perform carrier-suppressed single-sideband (CS-SSB) modulation on the initial frequency-hopping (FH) signal, thereby converting the RF signal into the optical domain for transmission and processing. The generated single-sideband signal is then fed into an 8-line signal optical frequency comb (OFC) generation module for signal replication. In the lower path, the optical carrier is first up-frequency-shifted by an AOM to adjust its center frequency, after which it is also directed into an identical OFC generation module to produce an 8-line local oscillator (LO) optical comb. The two optical combs are combined and then demultiplexed by a DWDM into eight independent channels, each of which is sequentially connected to an optical switch and a photodetector. By controlling the switching states of the optical switches and the phase selection of the signals, the input narrowband FH signal is eventually expanded to 16 times its original bandwidth. Results and Discussions An experimental link was established to verify the proposed method. First, the generation performance of the dual optical combs was tested. As shown in Fig. 2, the free spectral range (FSR) of OFC1 and OFC2 are 40 GHz and 36 GHz, respectively, and the flatness of both combs is below 3 dB. Subsequently, a phase modulation experiment was conducted using a single-tone signal with a center frequency of 800 MHz. From Fig. 3, it can be observed that frequency-hopped signals appear at 200 MHz and 1800 MHz, and the crosstalk suppression ratio between the two channels exceeds 21 dB, indicating effective isolation between the channels. Fig. 4 presents the results of the frequency-hopping function test for all channels using optical switches. It is evident that an input frequency-hopping signal with a bandwidth of only 1 GHz can be expanded by a factor of 16 in the hopping bandwidth. Finally, a wideband vector signal was employed to verify the frequency-hopping function across all channels. The experimental results show that the adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) for each channel is approximately 39.57 dB, and the error vector magnitude (EVM) of the generated signal is about 6.72%. Notably, although residual signals can still be detected at the original spectral positions after frequency hopping, these residuals do not significantly affect effective communication. Conclusions The proposed scheme successfully achieves large-bandwidth frequency hopping while ensuring frequency stability. In contrast to existing photonic frequency-hopping approaches based on optical injection locking or Fourier domain mode locking, the proposed scheme enables flexible frequency hopping without the need to directly drive the laser with an electrical signal. Its frequency stability primarily depends on the initial frequency-hopping signal, thereby effectively avoiding frequency instabilities induced by laser control. Furthermore, unlike photonic frequency-multiplication-based schemes, the proposed approach does not require a high-frequency hopping signal as a reference. It is worth noting that the hopping bandwidth can be expanded proportionally with the increase in the number of optical frequency comb lines. Meanwhile, compared with other photonic frequency-hopping schemes based on optical frequency combs, the proposed scheme doubles the utilization efficiency of each comb line for frequency hopping and supports arbitrary frequency switching within the hopping bandwidth without being limited to fixed frequency points. Owing to these advantages, the proposed scheme exhibits broad application prospects in future anti-jamming communications, reconnaissance, and electronic countermeasures.
- Microwave photonics,
- Frequency hopping (FH),
- Optical frequency comb (OFC),
- Acousto-optic modulator (AOM)

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References(29)

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