Phys.org August 4, 2022
A conventional optical phased arrays (OPA) based on a waveguide grating array suffers from strong cross talk between adjacent waveguides when the pitch is a half-wavelength or less. Researchers in Denmark theoretically described and experimentally demonstrated a two-dimensional aliasing-free beam steering regime for an integrated OPA with the entire 180° field of view (FOV). They achieved this by using a half-wavelength-pitch waveguide array combined with a trapezoidal slab grating as a single emitter. The OPA had a low sidelobe level of <−19dB while the beam was steered from −40∘ to +40∘, breaking the trade-off between FOV and beam quality. According to the researchers the chip-based OPA provides a promising route for a compact, solid-state, cost-effective, and high-performance lidar system, enabling a wide range of classical and quantum applications… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Chip-based optical phased array. (a) Schematic illustration of the OPA chip… Credit: Optica Vol. 9, Issue 8, pp. 903-907 (2022)Â