Patent attributes
A system may include an optical phased array, a photodiode array, and a radiofrequency (RF) antenna element array. The optical phased array may be configured to: receive a laser signal from a signal laser; and output an optical beam. Each photodiode may be configured to: receive at least a portion of the optical beam and at least a portion of an optical plane wave beam, wherein the optical plane wave beam is formed based at least on a local oscillator (LO) laser that outputs a laser beam having a different wavelength from the signal laser; and output an electronic signal based on the at least the portion of the optical beam and the at least a portion of the optical plane wave beam. The RF antenna element array may be configured to output an RF beam based on received electronic signals from the photodiode array.