Trailblazing PAIR Seminar by Prof. YAO Jianping on the Advancement of Microwave Photonic Systems

Prof. YAO Jianping from the University of Ottawa, Canada, delivered the PAIR Seminar titled “Photonic Integrated Circuits for Next-Generation Microwave Photonic Systems” on 11 June 2025 on the PolyU campus. The seminar drew over 70 attendees in person and engaged an online audience of more than 15,300 from various countries and regions who joined the live broadcast on social media platforms.

The seminar commenced with a warm welcome and introduction of the speaker by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR. Prof. Yao began his presentation with an overview of microwave photonics (MWP), emphasising that the technology uses light as a carrier and photonic and optoelectronic devices for the generation, transmission, control and processing of microwave signals. He compared the properties of four major material systems including indium phosphide (InP), silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) and silicon on insulator (SOI), highlighting that SOI, Si₃N₄, and LNOI are playing important role in implementing photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

Prof. Yao further explored current applications of photonic integrated MWP systems. These included: true time delay networks for wideband beamforming, optoelectronic oscillators for low-phase-noise, high-frequency microwave generation, programmable signal processors for versatile photonic signal processing, high-sensitivity optical sensors and integrated MWP radar, etc.

In his closing remarks, Prof. Yao emphasised that the PICs’ miniaturised size, wide bandwidth and low loss, enhanced functionality and increased scalability enable the microchips to bring powerful solutions for MWP systems, paving the way for next-generation systems in radar, wireless communications (5G/6G), AI computing, delivering greater speed, bandwidth and dynamic range. He also stressed that heterogenous integration is a key challenge in the field, but it also presents opportunities for future development.

Following the presentation was a lively question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. LU Chao, Director of Photonics Research Institute (PRI) and Chair Professor of Fiber Optics. The audience engaged in a productive dialogue with Prof. Yao.

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