Active optical phased array integrated within a micro-cantilever

• Published in: Communications engineering Vol. 3; no. 1; pp. 76 - 7
• Main Authors: Guerber, Sylvain, Fowler, Daivid, Mollard, Laurent, Dieppedale, Christel, Le Rhun, Gwenael, Hamelin, Antoine, Faugier-Tovar, Jonathan, Abdoul-Carime, Kim
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer Nature B.V 01.12.2024; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Arrays; Beam steering; Cantilever beams; Lasers; Light; Microelectromechanical systems; Phased arrays; Photonics; Piezoelectric actuators; Silicon nitride; Silicon wafers; Tunable lasers
• ISSN: 2731-3395
• DOI: 10.1038/s44172-024-00224-1

Three dimensional sensing is essential in order that machines may operate in and interact with complex dynamic environments. Solid-state beam scanning devices are seen as being key to achieving required system specifications in terms of sensing range, resolution, refresh rate and cost. Integrated optical phased arrays fabricated on silicon wafers are a potential solution, but demonstrated devices with system-level performance currently rely on expensive widely tunable source lasers. Here, we combine silicon nitride photonics and micro-electromechanical system technologies, demonstrating the integration of an active photonic beam-steering circuit into a piezoelectric actuated micro cantilever. An optical phased array, operating at a wavelength of 905 nm, provides output beam scanning over a range of 17° in one dimension, while the inclination of the entire circuit and consequently the angle of the output beam in a second dimension can be independently modified over a range of up to 40° using the piezoelectric actuator.Sylvain Guerber and colleagues present a method for biaxial beam steering with an optical phased array integrated within a piezoelectric activated MEMS cantilever. This approach is helpful to avoid the use of a tunable laser to achieve 2D beam steering.