Photonic processor can isolate wireless signals from a noisy environment

Paper in Nature Communications

Broadband physical layer cognitive radio with an integrated photonic processor for blind source separation

By Professor Bhavin Shastri, Professor Alex Tait and their team.

Research Summary:

In a cocktail-party effect, the brain can focus on a single conversation in a noisy room. This is called blind source separation (BSS). We show a photonic (light-based) processor can isolate wireless signals from a noisy environment. Our system will be useful for earth explorer services (remote sensing, satellite imagery, radar) and radio astronomy, where one must sensitively detect weak signals at frequencies naturally dictated by physical phenomena and vulnerable to RF interference from commercial activities.