High-precision two-dimensional beam steering with a 64-element optical fiber phased array.

Abstract

Large-scale optical fiber phased arrays (OFPAs) are capable of realizing high-power lasers and high-speed beam steering, which are widely used in long-distance detection and communication. However, dephasing occurring from optical fiber jitter and power amplifier noise can reduce beam quality and steering precision in applications. We demonstrate a two-dimensional 64-element OFPA system that employs a stochastic parallel gradient descent algorithm to synchronize the phases and thus achieve high-quality multi-beam output. Using multi-beam steering, the total scan time for covering a certain field of view can be shorter compared to single-beam steering. Moreover, an avalanche photodiode array is used to enhance the precision of the voltage for beam steering. Experimental results show that the peak sidelobe ratio of the main beam achieves 23.7 dB, and the speed of the beam steering between two discretionary angles is 128 kHz.