MicroWave Photonic Technologies for Communications and Sensing Applications in Space

A revolution is taking place in the field of satellite systems, as more satellites have been launched into orbit in the last 5 years then in the last 6 decades combined. The main reason for this is because satellites are now affordable to manufacture and the new generation of satellites orbit at much lower altitudes – sparking new opportunities in communications and Earth Observations (EO).The MWP4SPACE IDN will train the next generation of specialists in Integrated Microwave Photonic (IMWP) devices and systems in the framework of satellite and space applications. They will gain skills to integrate compact photonic and radio frequency (RF) circuits, and cutting-edge knowledge of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design, fabrication, packaging, validation and qualification both at the device and system level – competences for which there is a fast-growing demand in the global satellite industry, but that are rarely taught in an integrated training program. Importantly, those skills are deemed essential to achieve the scientific goals of the program, which are to develop, introduce and promote IMWP technologies for secure and reconfigurable networks of LEO- and MEO satellites for telecommunications (SATCOM) and EO. MWP4SPACE will offer a unique education program for 15 young researchers structured in research projects and network-wide training activities and delivered by 6 European Universities, 1 non-profit academic research institutions and 9 companies which are world-class references in both photonics and space technologies. By positioning MWP4SPACE DCs as key actors in the transfer of knowledge developed for terrestrial applications to space applications, our training network will significantly contribute to their employability by placing them as future leaders in the next generation of SATCOM and EO technologies.