Large-scale optical phased array using a low-power multi-pass silicon photonic platform
Abstract
Optical phased arrays are a promising beam-steering technology for ultra-small solid-state lidar and free-space communication systems. Long-range, high-performance arrays require a large beam emission area densely packed with thousands of actively phase-controlled, power-hungry light emitting elements. To date, such large-scale phased arrays have been impossible to realize since current demonstrated technologies would operate at untenable electrical power levels. Here we show a multi-pass photonic platform integrated into a large-scale phased array that lowers phase shifter power consumption by nearly 9 times. The multi-pass structure decreases the power consumption of a thermo-optic phase shifter to a P π of 1.7 m W / π without sacrificing speed or optical bandwidth. Using this platform, we demonstrate a silicon photonic phased array containing 512 actively controlled elements, consuming only 1.9 W of power while performing 2D beam steering over a 70 ∘ × 6 ∘ field of view. Our results demonstrate a path forward to building scalable phased arrays containing thousands of active elements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jan 02, 2020
- Source ID
- 10.1364/optica.7.000003
Entities
People
- Aseema Mohanty
- Brian Stern
- Christopher T. Phare
- Michal Lipson
- Min Chul Shin
- Moshe Zadka
- Oscar A. Jimenez Gordillo
- Samantha P. Roberts
- Steven A. Miller
- Utsav D. Dave
- Xingchen Ji
- You-chia Chang
Organizations
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency