Abstract

This paper proposes the concept of a comprehensive photonic-assisted cognitive radio regulatory system based on a multi-node acquisition network and reports the implementation of the architecture. Characterizing the wide frequency operation range with the extended spatial coverage, the demonstration is performed by the photonic transceiver front-end equipped with the spectrum sensing network founded on cascaded multiple photonic integrated chips. That enables the joint characteristic cognition of various signal parameters and information, providing the capability for radar and communication applications in the same hardware. Experimental results show that the presented system can not only identify the parameters of various external interferences for X/K-band radar and adjust the operating frequency band in time to avoid disturbance but also monitor the usage of communication spectrum resources and achieve the dynamic access of new service in the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication. Besides, the system employing the integrated chips exhibits comparable performance by contrast with commercial devices as an alternative to cascaded chips, whether for radar interference avoidance or adaptive allocation of communication spectrum resources. The reported configuration promotes innovative development of combination in present photonic modules and integrated components, representing a crucial step towards the complexity reduction of versatile cognitive applications.