An optoelectronic microwave source with high power and frequency tunability

An optoelectronic microwave source with high power and frequency tunability | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article An optoelectronic microwave source with high power and frequency tunability Jun Zhang, Xinyue Niu, Langning Wang, Bin Zhang, Junpu Ling, Muyu Yi, and 10 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7058679/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Microwave sources are widely employed in communication, radar, and directed energy systems. However, conventional microwave sources based on electronic techniques often struggle to balance multi-parameter tunability and high output power, thereby limiting their application scope. To overcome this limitation, this study integrates optoelectronic approaches into microwave source systems, leveraging the broad bandwidth of lasers and the high power-handling capabilities of wide-bandgap semiconductors. In the proposed optoelectronic microwave source (OEMS), fast-response silicon carbide (SiC) enables precise control of carrier lifetime across the 10–100 ps range, while the device demonstrates a high-power capacity of 55 MW. The OEMS delivers a broadband photoelectric response across the P–L band, with peak-to-peak output power exceeding 1 MW over the 0.25–1.3 GHz frequency range and a relative bandwidth of 135%. This represents the highest reported performance to date in terms of combined output power and bandwidth. Additionally, it exhibits low timing jitter and achieves a power-combining efficiency of 98.62% in a 2×2 array configuration. These results highlight the system's strong potential for further development across the frequency, energy, and spatial domains. Physical sciences/Physics/Electronics, photonics and device physics Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical materials and structures Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering Physical sciences/Physics/Applied physics high-power microwave (HPM) optoelectronic microwave system (OEMS) wide-bandgap (WBG) photoconductive semiconductor device (PCSD) multi-parameter adjustable microwave generation multi-channel power synthesis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementary.pdf Supplementary information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 21 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Nature Communications → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7058679","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":489888682,"identity":"9a80df1a-6fef-40bc-bde9-67f7693f79bd","order_by":0,"name":"Jun Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACCRDBA2NXSMjxk6blwBkLY8kGorTA2AfbKhI3ENIiP7v52cMvMofzGKR7DG9/nCfBuIGB+eGjG3i0MM45Zm4sw3O4mEHmjLHFwW0SzOYMbMbGOXi0MEskmElL8BxObJDIMZMAamGzbOBhk8anhU0i/RuSljkSPAYHCGjhAaqU/ADX0iAhQVCLhEROmTQDTzpQS1qxxZljEgaSzQT8Ij8jfZvkzx5roJbkjTcqaurq+9mbHz7GpwUEmHl7GBjsD8C5BJSDAOOPH0SoGgWjYBSMgpELAOJURXgV+mthAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jun","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":489888683,"identity":"48469316-7822-4377-a4dc-32efbbd41e2d","order_by":1,"name":"Xinyue Niu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6398-8827","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xinyue","middleName":"","lastName":"Niu","suffix":""},{"id":489888684,"identity":"c71354f5-922a-4d1a-8be0-f56ef2306f45","order_by":2,"name":"Langning Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Langning","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":489888685,"identity":"ad1af451-7526-49fc-9995-62af0eef6eea","order_by":3,"name":"Bin Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of High Energy Laser Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bin","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":489888686,"identity":"0ed5b379-935f-4698-ba63-10750bea6292","order_by":4,"name":"Junpu Ling","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junpu","middleName":"","lastName":"Ling","suffix":""},{"id":489888687,"identity":"54101bba-dfcf-4e5f-a1b2-5c41c68e3224","order_by":5,"name":"Muyu Yi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Muyu","middleName":"","lastName":"Yi","suffix":""},{"id":489888688,"identity":"68c2a85f-bc4b-4aa9-8388-1ed9a530bcc1","order_by":6,"name":"Jinmei Yao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jinmei","middleName":"","lastName":"Yao","suffix":""},{"id":489888689,"identity":"9d4080f5-592a-438e-beca-fd833488978f","order_by":7,"name":"Jing Hou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of High Energy Laser Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jing","middleName":"","lastName":"Hou","suffix":""},{"id":489888690,"identity":"31270a5c-13ae-4d9b-8bb4-b5f3908d4d9a","order_by":8,"name":"Hanwu Yang","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5697-0423","institution":"State Key Laboratory of Pulsed Power Laser Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hanwu","middleName":"","lastName":"Yang","suffix":""},{"id":489888691,"identity":"a497e24e-db80-47fb-9a1d-d23cc23de7a7","order_by":9,"name":"Xiaotao Xu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Colledge of Information and Communication","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiaotao","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""},{"id":489888692,"identity":"f9362124-c9fe-417e-981e-9e590ff017c6","order_by":10,"name":"Hui Jing","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hui","middleName":"","lastName":"Jing","suffix":""},{"id":489888693,"identity":"99f49ff2-3b3c-40cf-904e-1c9175d63c59","order_by":11,"name":"Bo Jiang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bo","middleName":"","lastName":"Jiang","suffix":""},{"id":489888694,"identity":"393b667b-2c18-4f5c-95d0-ffa86bd90145","order_by":12,"name":"Juntao He","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juntao","middleName":"","lastName":"He","suffix":""},{"id":489888695,"identity":"2aaff8fd-9b44-4c90-813c-75cd784a3728","order_by":13,"name":"Jinliang Liu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jinliang","middleName":"","lastName":"Liu","suffix":""},{"id":489888696,"identity":"9f6c775a-1a88-4a75-b704-7b268bb3a4c0","order_by":14,"name":"Jiande Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"State Key Laboratory of Pulsed Power Laser Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiande","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":489888697,"identity":"d6ab7f93-d595-44bd-b64b-a69c6dfa638d","order_by":15,"name":"Tao Xun","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"NUDT","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tao","middleName":"","lastName":"Xun","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-07-06 15:15:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7058679/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7058679/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69582-y","type":"published","date":"2026-02-21T05:00:00+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":105884302,"identity":"81e436de-d3fe-413f-b316-9d156f8e199b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-01 07:12:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1672291,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Article File","description":"","filename":"Anoptoelectronicmicrowavesourcewithhighpowerandfrequencytunability.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7058679/v1_covered_c74ca2e4-60c2-4a44-9a75-e3e252cc8d52.pdf"},{"id":88243912,"identity":"b5829e49-216f-4a19-b0fa-6b6a9b133ecf","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-08-04 12:04:54","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":4603129,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Supplementary information","description":"","filename":"Supplementary.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7058679/v1/43dad93fab00bb1a0d33a45d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"There is \u003cb\u003eNO\u003c/b\u003e Competing Interest.","formattedTitle":"An optoelectronic microwave source with high power and frequency tunability","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-portfolio","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Nature Portfolio","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":false,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"high-power microwave (HPM), optoelectronic microwave system (OEMS), wide-bandgap (WBG) photoconductive semiconductor device (PCSD), multi-parameter adjustable microwave generation, multi-channel power synthesis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7058679/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7058679/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Microwave sources are widely employed in communication, radar, and directed energy systems. However, conventional microwave sources based on electronic techniques often struggle to balance multi-parameter tunability and high output power, thereby limiting their application scope. To overcome this limitation, this study integrates optoelectronic approaches into microwave source systems, leveraging the broad bandwidth of lasers and the high power-handling capabilities of wide-bandgap semiconductors. In the proposed optoelectronic microwave source (OEMS), fast-response silicon carbide (SiC) enables precise control of carrier lifetime across the 10–100 ps range, while the device demonstrates a high-power capacity of 55 MW. The OEMS delivers a broadband photoelectric response across the P–L band, with peak-to-peak output power exceeding 1 MW over the 0.25–1.3 GHz frequency range and a relative bandwidth of 135%. This represents the highest reported performance to date in terms of combined output power and bandwidth. Additionally, it exhibits low timing jitter and achieves a power-combining efficiency of 98.62% in a 2×2 array configuration. These results highlight the system's strong potential for further development across the frequency, energy, and spatial domains.","manuscriptTitle":"An optoelectronic microwave source with high power and frequency tunability","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-08-04 12:04:49","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7058679/v1","editorialEvents":[],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"nature-communications","isNatureJournal":true,"hasQc":false,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"NCOMMS","sideBox":"Learn more about [Nature Communications](http://www.nature.com/ncomms/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://mts-ncomms.nature.com/","title":"Nature Communications","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"ejp","reportingPortfolio":"Nature Communications","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5d0ae095-a943-42da-a869-d726da2dd5c1","owner":[],"postedDate":"August 4th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[{"id":52011748,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Electronics, photonics and device physics"},{"id":52011749,"name":"Physical sciences/Optics and photonics/Optical materials and structures"},{"id":52011750,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Electrical and electronic engineering"},{"id":52011751,"name":"Physical sciences/Physics/Applied physics"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-01T07:11:30+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-7058679","link":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69582-y","journal":{"identity":"nature-communications","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Nature Communications"},"publishedOn":"2026-02-21 05:00:00","publishedOnDateReadable":"February 21st, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-08-04 12:04:49","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1038/s41467-026-69582-y","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-69582-y","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7058679","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7058679","identity":"rs-7058679","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}