Output steerable optical phased array
First Claim
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1. An optical phased array, comprising:
- an input light source;
a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels, wherein said light emitting ends comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters arranged along an axis; and
means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction.
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Abstract
Optical phased arrays employing a large number of light emitters and optical phase delays between adjacent emitters to steer and focus an optical beam from the contributions of all the light emitters. The array can include a laser oscillator (22) as the light source, with the laser light being conducted via optical waveguides (26, 30 and 32) into optical fibers (34), with phase delays being effected by piezoelectric or electro-optic effects on the optical waveguides. The array can be used in a low cost display device for generating optical images or in an optical memory.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An optical phased array, comprising:
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an input light source; a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels, wherein said light emitting ends comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters arranged along an axis; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An optical phased array, comprising
an input light source; -
a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels, wherein said light emitting ends comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters arranged along an axis; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, wherein light is focussed at focal point FP by said array of monochromatic light emitters when the following condition is satisfied for all pairs (x,y) of said light emitters;
space="preserve" listing-type="equation">φ
.sub.x +(2π
d.sub.x,FP)λ
=+(2π
d.sub.y,FP)/λ
+2π
Kwhere φ
x is the phase adjustment at light emitter x, dx,FP is the distance from light emitter x to the focal point, d is the wavelength of light, φ
y is the phase adjustment at light emitter y, dy,FP is the distance from light emitter y to the focal point, and k is an integer.
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8. An optical phased array, comprising:
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an input light source; a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels; a plurality of optical fibers, a first end of each fiber being optically coupled to receive light from said light emitting ends, and wherein second ends of said fibers are arranged along an axis to comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, wherein said adjusting means comprises a plurality of optical waveguides, one for each fiber, a pair of electrodes straddling each said optical waveguide and a means for developing a potential difference across said electrodes, and wherein said optical waveguides comprise a light conducting material characterized by a relatively high electro-optic coefficient, wherein said optical phase delay may be varied by adjusting said potential difference, thereby changing the index of refraction of said optical waveguide material. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. An optical phased array, comprising:
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an input light source; a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels; a plurality of optical fibers, a first end of each fiber being optically coupled to receive light from said light emitting ends, and wherein second ends of said fibers are arranged along an axis to comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, wherein said adjusting means comprises a plurality of optical waveguides, one for each said optical fiber, and wherein each said optical waveguide comprises a light conducting material characterized by a substantial piezoelectric characteristic, whereby the optical length of said material varies in dependence on the potential difference applied across said material, and said adjusting means further comprises means for applying a selectable potential difference across said electrodes, thereby varying the optical length of said optical waveguide in dependence on the magnitude of said applied potential difference.
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11. An optical phased array, comprising:
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an input light source; a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said optical waveguide channels comprising a light conducting material characterized by a relatively large electro-optic coefficient, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels, wherein said light emitting end comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters arranged along an axis; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, wherein said adjusting means comprises for each channel a pair of metal electrodes straddling the optical waveguide comprising said channel and a means for developing a selectable potential difference across said electrode pair, whereby said optical phase delay may be varied by adjusting said potential difference, thereby changing the index of refraction of said light conducting material. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. An optical phased array, comprising:
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a laser oscillator light source; a substrate having an optical waveguide pattern formed thereon, said pattern comprising an input waveguide having a light receiving end disposed to receive light from said light source and a plurality of optical waveguide channels terminating in respective light emitting ends, said waveguide pattern arranged to divide the light received in said input waveguide into said plurality of optical channels, wherein said light emitting ends comprise an array of monochromatic light emitters arranged along an axis; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to provide a progressive phase delay change across said array to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, said adjusting means comprising an optical waveguide comprising a light conductor for conducting the light from said light source, said light conductor characterized by a relatively large electro-optic coefficient, a pair of electrodes straddling said optical waveguide, and a means for developing a selectable potential difference across said electrode pair, whereby the optical phase delay through said optical waveguide may be varied by adjusting said potential difference, thereby changing the index of refraction of said light conducting material. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A two-dimensional optical phased array, comprising:
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a two-dimensional array of monochromatic light emitters, each said emitter disposed within an emitter cell forming a regular subdivision of the array area, and wherein the displacement of said emitters within the respective cells resembles a random distribution; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, wherein the distribution of said emitters provides efficient cancellation of sidelobe energy. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A two-dimensional optical phased array, comprising:
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a two-dimensional array of monochromatic light emitters arranged in horizontal rows and vertical columns, each said emitter disposed within an emitter cell forming a regular subdivision of the array area, and wherein the displacement of said emitters within the respective cells resembles a random distribution; and means for adjusting the relative optical phase delay between adjacent light emitters to steer a focussed spot of light resulting from said light emitters to a desired direction, wherein the distribution of said emitters provides efficient cancellation of sidelobe energy, said means for adjusting comprising means for providing a horizontal phase shift factor to each of said light emitters, said horizontal factor being a constant for each of the emitters in a given row, means for providing a vertical phase shift factor to each of said light emitters, said vertical factor being a constant for each of the emitters in a given column, and means for providing a cross effects factor to each of said emitters indicative of the cross effect between the horizontal and vertical elements. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification