Photonic approach for microwave spectral analysis based on Fourier cosine transform

A photonic approach for microwave spectral analysis based on Fourier cosine transform is proposed. The spectral information is obtained by processing a microwave power versus dispersion function, which is the product of the power spectrum of the signal with its spectrum to be analyzed and the power transfer function of the phase-modulated radio over dispersive link system. We demonstrate that the approach is capable of analyzing microwave signals with multiple frequency components. The sensitivity, the spectral resolution, and the effective measurement bandwidth of the scheme are quantitatively discussed.