Polarization-division and spatial-division shared-aperture nanopatch antenna arrays for wide-angle optical beam scanning

Compact unidirectional waveguide grating emitter with enhanced wavelength sensitivity based on the hybrid plasmonic mode

Waveguide grating antennas are widely adopted in beam-steering devices, typically enabling the beam steering in longitudinal direction within a two-dimensional scanning optical array by changing the input wavelength. However, traditional waveguide grating antennas suffer from limited tuning range due to low dispersion of the gratings. In this paper, a compact silicon grating waveguide antenna array is proposed with enhanced wavelength sensitivity by introducing a periodically modulated hybrid plasmonic mode. The hybrid plasmonic mode is supported by the hybrid plasmonic waveguides (HPWs) composed of silicon waveguides and periodic subwavelength silver strips. In order to convert the guided waves to the radiated waves, a series of silicon emitting segments are deposited above the HPWs. Additionally, the horizontally arranged array of HPWs also acts as a reflector of the downward radiation, resulting in an effective unidirectional emission. Through the optimization of physical parameters, the proposed antenna array achieves a wavelength-length tuning efficiency up to 0.3°/nm within the wavelength range of 1500∼1600 nm, exhibiting a significant improvement compared with traditional ones. Moreover, an average upward emissivity exceeding 80% with a maximum value of 89% within the 100 nm bandwidth is demonstrated through the numerical simulations. The proposed compact antenna array provides an alternative solution in realizing large-scale integrated high-tuning-efficiency optical beam-steering devices.

Method and system for simultaneously measuring six degrees of freedom motion errors of a rotary axis based on a semiconductor laser

The rotary axis is the basis of rotational motion. The motion errors of a rotary axis have an extremely important impact on the accuracy of precision machining measuring equipment such as CNC machines, robot manipulators, and laser trackers. It is a difficult problem to realise the fast and precision simultaneous measurement of multi-degree-of-freedom motion errors of a rotary axis. Therefore, a novel method for the simultaneous measurement of six-degree-of-freedom motion errors of a rotary axis by a single-mode fiber coupled semiconductor laser is proposed in this paper. The corresponding system is developed, which has the advantages of high measurement efficiency, simple structure and low cost. A phase-solving method taking the advantages of both the eight-subdivision and the Cordic algorithm is proposed to solve the phase of interference signal, cannot only realize the high-resolution solving of the current signal phase but also quickly obtain high-precision interferometric results. A series of experiments were carried out on the developed system. An experimental system was built and a series of experiments were performed. The experimental results show that the standard deviation of stability for 1 hour of the six-degree-of-freedom measurement is 0.03 µm, 0.02 µm, 0.03 µm, 0.10 ' ' , 0.05 ' ' and 0.03 ' ' , respectively. The repeatability deviation of measuring a rotary axis is ±0.16 µm, ± 0.29 µm, ± 0.25 µm, ± 0.65 ' ' , ± 0.62 ' ' and ±13.42 ' ' , respectively. The maximum deviation of comparison with standard instruments is 0.46 µm, 1.00 µm, 0.49 µm, 1.06 ' ' , 1.53 ' ' and 0.74 ' ' , respectively. It provides a low-cost and high-precision measurement method for simultaneous measurement of six-degree-of-freedom motion errors of rotary axis of precision machining and measuring equipment.

High-efficiency unidirectional vertical emitter achieved by an aperture-coupling nanoslot antenna array

Coupling light from in-plane guided light into free space or optical fibers is crucial for many photonic integrated circuits and vice versa. However, traditional grating couplers or waveguide grating antennas suffer from low upward coupling efficiency due to the light radiating in both upward and downward directions simultaneously. In this paper, a compact aperture-coupling nanoslot antenna array is proposed for high-efficiency unidirectional radiation, where a two-dimensional high-contrast grating (HCG) is employed as a mirror to reflect the undesired downward radiation. Upon the HCG separated by a low-index spacing layer, a thin silver layer is deposited. Finally, a series of H-shaped slots are patterned on the silver thin film to arrange the aperture fields and radiate the in-plane guided light into free space. The proposed nanoslot antenna array features a front-to-back ratio (F/B) over 10 dB within the wavelength range of 1500 ∼ 1600 nm. At the same time, a high radiation efficiency of over 75% and a maximum radiation efficiency of 87.6% are achieved within the 100 nm bandwidth. The high-efficiency unidirectional antenna array is promising for the integrated photonic applications including wireless optical communications, light detection and ranging, and fiber input/output couplers.

Integrated Optical Phased Arrays for Beam Forming and Steering

Integrated optical phased arrays can be used for beam shaping and steering with a small footprint, lightweight, high mechanical stability, low price, and high-yield, benefiting from the mature CMOS-compatible fabrication. This paper reviews the development of integrated optical phased arrays in recent years. The principles, building blocks, and configurations of integrated optical phased arrays for beam forming and steering are presented. Various material platforms can be used to build integrated optical phased arrays, e.g., silicon photonics platforms, III/V platforms, and III–V/silicon hybrid platforms. Integrated optical phased arrays can be implemented in the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared spectral ranges. The main performance parameters, such as field of view, beamwidth, sidelobe suppression, modulation speed, power consumption, scalability, and so on, are discussed in detail. Some of the typical applications of integrated optical phased arrays, such as free-space communication, light detection and ranging, imaging, and biological sensing, are shown, with future perspectives provided at the end.