| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/L83783/01 |
| Title: |
INTEGRATED HIGH SPEED/HIGH POWER RECEIVER FOR OPTOELECTRONIC MICROWAVE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS |
| Principal Investigator: |
Aitchison, Professor S |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Electronics and Electrical Engineering |
| Organisation: |
University of Glasgow |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 January 1998 |
Ends: |
31 December 2000 |
Value (£): |
229,090
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Optical Communications |
Optical Devices & Subsystems |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Optoelectronic distribution of microwave signals is currently under consideration as a method of extending the coverage of mobile communications networks. In particular, within a building where reception can be poor, a local transmitter would cover the offices etc, to form a picocell. The major limitation to this approach lies with the photodiode, where saturation effects limit the amount of power which can be delivered. The current solution is to use in-line microwave amplifiers, after the photodiode, to boost the electrical signal, an approach which requires a large amount of electronic circuitry at each transmitter. In addition, it is vital to prevent photodiode saturation in analogue links with a high dynamic range. This proposal will address the issue of photodiode saturation by applying quantum well intermixing techniques to grade the absorption properties along the length of a GaAs/AlGaAa waveguide photodiode. In this way, a more uniform carrier distribution will be generated and the effects of saturation will be minimised. Monolithic integration techniques will be used to produce a device which can be efficiently coupled to a fibre and hybrid integration to produce a device which is efficiently heat sunk and has pre-defined v-grooves for fibre alignment. This research project is aimed at developing efficient, fast, high linearity, wide bandgap photodetectors. Such photodiodes are required for analogue fibre links with high dynamic range. One application will be in an integrated microwave transmitter module for an optoelectronic microwave distribution system. Direct beneficiaries would include DERA and GMMT. The integrated design of the photodiode will also have applications in civil and military analogue fibre systems and in telecommunications. Such photodiodes will benefit companies such as BT, HP and Nortel. More generally, all users of cellular phones will benefit from picocell technologies which enhance channel reuse and allow wireless telephony to be used in localised areas.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.gla.ac.uk |