Abstract

Optical beam scanning is a widely utilized function in optical systems and a compact nonmechanical solid-state device has long been anticipated. Here, we have studied such a device consisting of photonic crystal slow-light waveguides and switch trees, fabricated by a Si photonics process, employing a bespoke prism lens for beam collimation. Further in this study, we particularly demonstrated the operation of the device only by the thermo-optic (TO) tuning of its components, at a fixed wavelength of light. A spot beam of ∼0.1° divergence, was scanned in two dimensions, in the angular range of 40° × 8.8° and average power consumption of < 0.7 W. Neglecting some disordered beams caused by the non-uniformity of the fabricated device, the estimated number of resolution points was 400 × 32 = 12,800, which required a significant effort in the device fabrication and calibration, utilizing optical-phased arrays, if the same performance was targeted.

Wide beam steering by slow-light waveguide gratings and a prism lens

Hiroyuki Ito, Yuma Kusunoki, Jun Maeda, Daichi Akiyama, Naoya Kodama, Hiroshi Abe, Ryo Tetsuya, and Toshihiko Baba
Optica 7(1) 47-52 (2020)

Space-time-domain observation of high-speed optical beam scanning in a thermo-optic Si photonic crystal slow-light beam scanner

Jun Gondo, Hiroyuki Ito, Takemasa Tamanuki, and Toshihiko Baba
Opt. Lett. 46(15) 3600-3603 (2021)

Fan-beam steering device using a photonic crystal slow-light waveguide with surface diffraction grating

Keisuke Kondo, Tomoki Tatebe, Shoji Hachuda, Hiroshi Abe, Fumio Koyama, and Toshihiko Baba
Opt. Lett. 42(23) 4990-4993 (2017)

Step-like beam scanning in a slow-light grating beam scanner for a FMCW LIDAR

Jun Gondo, Takemasa Tamanuki, Ryo Tetsuya, Mikiya Kamata, Hiroyuki Ito, and Toshihiko Baba
Opt. Lett. 47(20) 5341-5343 (2022)

Dispersion engineering and thermo-optic tuning in mid-infrared photonic crystal slow light waveguides on silicon-on-insulator

Yiming Ma, Bowei Dong, Bo Li, Kah-Wee Ang, and Chengkuo Lee
Opt. Lett. 43(22) 5504-5507 (2018)