Abstract
An optical phased array of nanoantenna fabricated in a CMOS compatible silicon photonics process is presented. The optical phased array is fed by low loss silicon waveguides with integrated ohmic thermo-optic phase shifters capable of 2π phase shift with ∼ 15 mW of applied electrical power. By controlling the electrical power to the individual integrated phase shifters fixed wavelength steering of the beam emitted normal to the surface of the wafer of 8° is demonstrated for 1 × 8 phased arrays with periods of both 6 and 9 μm.
Highlights
Radio frequency and microwave phased arrays have been used extensively for a large host of applications ranging from wireless base-stations [1] for mobile communications to radio astronomy [2]
We present the first demonstration of an active chip-scale optical phased array based on metallic nanoantenna emitters operating in the near-infrared
In our CMOS compatible optical phased array architecture, we actively control the phase of each radiating nanoantenna by utilizing compact Silicon photonic phase-shifters integrated directly into our waveguides, and have demonstrated wide angle optical beam-steering at fixed wavelength
Summary
Radio frequency and microwave phased arrays have been used extensively for a large host of applications ranging from wireless base-stations [1] for mobile communications to radio astronomy [2]. Metallic antennas can be Received 3 Jan 2013; revised 12 Feb 2013; accepted 17 Feb 2013; published 22 Feb 2013 25 February 2013 / Vol 21, No 4 / OPTICS EXPRESS 5199 compact, efficient radiators [15] due to the high dielectric permittivity contrast between metals and the cladding dielectric materials They are scalable to optical frequencies where resonant surface excitations can be exploited to enhance their radiative properties. Metallic antenna emitters are highly tailorable based on metal geometry and can be designed to couple efficiently to free-space radiative modes making them ideal compact feed and antenna structures for optical fields This leads us to consider a hybrid optical phased array architecture based on low-loss dielectric waveguides for the distribution and phase-modulation of the optical signal, and metallic nanoantenna structures above a properly placed ground plane as the radiating element [15]. Received 3 Jan 2013; revised 12 Feb 2013; accepted 17 Feb 2013; published 22 Feb 2013 25 February 2013 / Vol 21, No 4 / OPTICS EXPRESS 5200
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