32 Gbps Data Transmission With 2D Beam-Steering Using a Silicon Optical Phased Array

Abstract

We demonstrate optical wireless transmission with two-dimensional (2D) beam-steering using an optical phased array (OPA). The OPA consists of 64-elements of electro-optic p-i-n phase shifters and thermo-optic tunable n-i-n grating radiators, employed for 2D beam-steering in the transversal and longitudinal directions. The design of the transmitter and receiver device parameters allowed the error-free transmission of 32 Gbps data over a distance of 3 m. The beam-steering range covered 46.0 degrees/10.2 degrees in the transversal/longitudinal direction with a beam divergence of 0.7 degrees/0.9 degrees. When compared with a transmission over fiber, it was confirmed that free-space transmission through the OPA did not degrade the quality of the tens of Gbps signals.