Microwave frequency measurement utilising frequency to time mapping

A novel microwave photonic frequency measurement (MPFM) receiver concept is proposed and demonstrated. This photonic technique directly maps the frequency information of the incoming microwave signal to a time delay utilising a dispersive medium. The measurement of the observed time delay directly equates to value of the input microwave frequency. The frequency-time mapping function from a chirped fiber Bragg grating (FBG) having a dispersion parameter of 1000 ps/nm was measured. Excellent agreement between measurement and theory is demonstrated within the bounds of the group delay ripple (GDR) of the chirped FBG.