Research review on the development of liquid crystal optical phased array device on the application of free space laser communication

Abstract

This paper reviews the research progress of liquid crystal optical phased array (LCOPA) devices in space laser communication applications. According to the constraints of space applications and system requirements, in the design and key technologies of array devices, the research progresses on the implementation methods such as wide-point range, large-aperture optical aperture, short response time, and space environment adaptability are emphatically introduced. In introducing the wide beam pointing range, the beam control method and the digital concatenation scheme are mainly described. In the study of large aperture, the area filling module and the area selection module are separately analyzed. And comparatively expounded the realization of sub-millisecond order rapid response of liquid crystal materials, and finally gave the United States Air Force laboratory's research on the liquid crystal optical phased array device irradiation environment adaptability research results.