Seamlessly merging radar ranging and imaging, wireless communications, and spectrum sensing for 6G empowered by microwave photonics

• Published in: Communications engineering 2024-09, Vol.3 (1), p.130-12, Article 130
• Main Authors: Shi, Taixia, Chen, Yang, Yao, Jianping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 639/624/1075/1081; 639/624/1075/187; 6G mobile communication; Broadband; Communications systems; Engineering; Error analysis; Frequency measurement; High speed; Image resolution; Microwave photonics; Photonics; Radar imaging; Radar systems; Signal processing; Spectrum allocation; Wireless communications
• ISSN: 2731-3395; 2731-3395
• DOI: 10.1038/s44172-024-00279-0

To facilitate intelligent interconnection among people, machines, and things, the next generation of communication technology must incorporate various sensing functions besides high-speed wireless communications. Integration of radar, wireless communications, and spectrum sensing is being investigated for 6G with increased spectral efficiency, enhanced system integration, and reduced cost. Microwave photonics, a technique that combines microwave engineering and photonic technology is considered an effective solution for implementing the integration and breaking the bottleneck problems of electronic solutions. Here, we show a photonics-assisted joint radar, wireless communications, and spectrum sensing system that enables precise perception of the surrounding physical and electromagnetic environments while maintaining high-speed communication. Communication signals and frequency-sweep signals are merged optically using a shared system architecture and hardware to achieve signal level sharing, ultimately simultaneously achieving high-accuracy radar ranging and imaging with a measurement error within ± 4 cm and an imaging resolution of 25 × 24.7 mm, high-data-rate wireless communications at 2 Gbaud, and wideband spectrum sensing with a frequency measurement error within ±10 MHz in a 6 GHz bandwidth. Taixia Shi and colleagues demonstrate a microwave photonics system with integrated capabilities of radar, communication, and spectrum sensing for 6G technologies, simultaneously achieving high-accuracy radar ranging and imaging, high-data-rate wireless communications, and wideband spectrum sensing.