Resonant transmissive modulator construction for use in beam steering arrays

Andrew S. Keys; Richard Lynn Fork; Thomas R. Nelson Jr.; John P. Loehr

doi:10.1117/12.351636

2 July 1999 Resonant transmissive modulator construction for use in beam steering arrays

Andrew S. Keys, Richard Lynn Fork, Thomas R. Nelson Jr., John P. Loehr

Proceedings Volume 3787, Optical Scanning: Design and Application; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.351636
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1999, Denver, CO, United States

Abstract

We describe a design for an agile, electronically- configurable, optical beam steering array to be used in directional free-space transmission of optical signals. The proposed device employs a 1D array of tunable resonant transmissive modulators constructed from customized multi- layered stacks of dielectric materials. Each modulator may be individually configured to transmit an optical signal with a known amount of phase and group velocity modulation. Proper configuration of each individual modulator results in diffractive interactions between multiple modulator outputs, providing a method for directional optical signal transmission. Of particular focus within this paper is the design of the individual modulator. We generate custom transmission functions by varying the parameters describing the modulator's specific construction, such as number of layers within the multi-layer stack, refractive indices of stack materials, layer thickness, and combinations of periodic versus non-periodic layer repetitions. A computational optimization of the variables describing the stack's construction strives to maximize the amount of optical signal modulation obtainable within defined limits. Our optimization is based largely on maximizing transmitted phase delay. We discuss trade-offs between methods of increasing device performance versus practical limitations of fabrication technologies.

Citation Download Citation

Andrew S. Keys, Richard Lynn Fork, Thomas R. Nelson Jr., and John P. Loehr "Resonant transmissive modulator construction for use in beam steering arrays", Proc. SPIE 3787, Optical Scanning: Design and Application, (2 July 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.351636

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