High Performance Photonic Oscillator for Cloud RADAR Applications

The Core Innovation: Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators

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At the heart of this oscillator is an ultra-high quality (Q) crystalline whispering gallery mode (WGM) microresonator. By integrating this technology with photonic and microelectronic components—including lasers, detectors, and waveguides—OEwaves is able to generate signals with spectral purity that exceeds the capabilities of conventional oscillators.

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This architecture is implemented on a single micrometer-scale platform, ensuring compactness without compromising performance. The result is a lightweight, low-power oscillator that is orders of magnitude beyond the current state of the art.

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Performance That Redefines the Standard

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The miniature photonic oscillator is designed to deliver:

• 10 mW of output RF power in the W-band
• Carrier frequency at 96 GHz, tunable across 92–100 GHz
• Single sideband (SSB) phase noise as low as:
  • –10 dBc/Hz at 10 Hz offset
  • –160 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz and higher Fourier frequencies

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This represents at least a tenfold improvement compared to existing systems of similar size, weight, and power.

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Designed for Critical NASA and Aerospace Applications

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Advanced aerospace missions, including those led by NASA, require microwave and millimeter-wave oscillators that can generate spectrally pure signals. Such purity is crucial for tasks like radar signal compression, which directly enhances resolution and reliability.

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For airborne and spaceborne devices, the requirements are especially demanding:

• Smaller than a U.S. quarter (25¢ coin)
• Power consumption under 1 W

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Existing technologies simply cannot meet these benchmarks. OEwaves’ miniature photonic oscillator introduces a revolutionary approach that achieves both the extreme miniaturization and noise suppression necessary for these mission-critical applications.

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Unlocking New Frontiers

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By combining OEwaves’ expertise in ultra-narrow linewidth lasers, injection locking, and WGM resonators, this next-generation photonic LO will enable systems that are:

• More compact
• More energy-efficient
• Capable of achieving unprecedented spectral purity

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With potential impact across cloud radar, radio astronomy, remote sensing, and secure communications, this technology is poised to become the foundation for the next wave of high-frequency systems.

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Check out the project details here.