Design of Microwave Photonic Subsystems Using Brillouin Scattering

With the rapid development of microwave photonic functionalities to support 5G and defence systems, there has been an increased interest in employing stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS)-based functionalities to perform tasks that are currently difficult to achieve with conventional electronic devices. Several advances have been made using on-chip SBS to demonstrate RF frequency phase shifters, bandpass and bandstop filters, measurement systems, and delay lines. In this article, we provide an overview of some of these developments made possible by strong on-chip SBS gain. We also provide the reader with design guidelines on the selection of the appropriate waveguide geometry, subsystem design, and analog photonic link configurations to aid them in the realisation of their requisite MWP subsystem. We also focus on some of the design trade-offs that need to be considered when using integrated SBS.