Large-scale MEMS-actuated 2-D optical phased arrays

Abstract

We report on a novel two-dimensional (2-D) optical phased arrays with 25,600 addressable phase shifters made of diffraction gratings with in-plane movement. The phase shift is independent of wavelength, and only depends on the displacement of the grating. The large optical aperture 3.2 x 3.1mm(2) produces a narrow beam (0.028 degrees x 0.029 degrees) stecrable over a field-of-view of 4.4 degrees x 4.6 degrees at 1550nm wavelength, with a maximum response time of 4.2 mu s.