Stochastic scanning method to shorten acquisition time using liquid crystal optical phased array

Abstract

Agile beam steering has been previously reported to be one of the unique properties of a liquid crystal optical phased array. We propose a stochastic scanning method using the property of agile beam steering to shorten acquisition time in building a free-space laser communication link. As a specific example, Gaussian stochastic scan enables higher acquisition probability and shorter acquisition time. In addition, there are two factors to influence the results: standard deviation of stochastic scanning angle and the width of the laser beam. Theoretical analysis is presented that the stochastic scanning method is a unique method to speed up the acquisition process in free-space laser communication.