US 11,888,561 B2
Beamforming systems, networks, and elements configured for simultaneous optical up/down conversion and beamforming
Paraskevas Bakopoulos, Ilion (GR); Nikolaos Argyris, Zografou (GR); Elad Mentovich, Tel Aviv (IL); and Nikos Pleros, Chalkida (GR)
Assigned to MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES, LTD., Yokneam (IL); and ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI, Salonika (GR)
Filed by Mellanox Technologies, Ltd., Yokneam (IL); and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Salonika (GR)
Filed on Nov. 4, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/518,966.
Claims priority of application No. 20210100636 (GR), filed on Sep. 27, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0109405 A1, Apr. 6, 2023
Int. Cl. H04B 10/2575 (2013.01); H04B 7/06 (2006.01); H04L 27/12 (2006.01); H04W 72/541 (2023.01)
CPC H04B 7/0617 (2013.01) [H04B 10/25753 (2013.01); H04B 10/25759 (2013.01); H04L 27/12 (2013.01); H04W 72/541 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A beamforming element, the beamforming element comprising:
an imprinting-shifting component configured to imprint a respective input signal onto a second beam to form an imprinted beam, wherein the imprinting-shifting component comprises
at least one modulator, and
a splitting optical filtering element configured to receive the imprinted beam and provide a plurality of output beams, each output beam of the plurality of output beams corresponding to a respective channel frequency range, and
a plurality of phase shifters to adjust respective optical phases of the plurality of output beams independently to obtain respective phase-shifted imprinted beams;
one or more multi-beam optical couplers each configured to receive a respective phase-shifted imprinted beam and a first beam, and further configured to cause the phase-shifted imprinted beam and the first beam to interfere with one another to form a respective interference beam; and
one or more optical-to-electrical converter components each configured to receive a respective interference beam and generate a respective frequency-shifted electrical signal based on the respective interference beam and having a time delay corresponding to the adjustment of the optical phase of the imprinted beam.