On-Chip Calibration And Control Of Optical Phased Arrays
Simplified calibrationOn-site recalibrationControl of direction & quality of output beamLower setup and use costs
Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)Communication and sensing Autonomous driving Free space communicationsHolographic displaysBiomedical imaging
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have discovered optimized on-chip control architecture and optimized phase shifter tuning strategy that scales to extremely large channel counts with significantly reduced on-chip footprint. This apparatus simplifies calibration, allows on-site recalibration and precise control of the direction and quality of the output beam. This invention allows fast correction of external effects such as e.g. temperature as well as addressing component aging, lowering the costs of initial setup and costs associated with using systems that rely on OPAs.
Background Complex photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are useful in numerous fields however, controlling them can be challenging. One of the most complex PICs are optical phased arrays (OPAs). Control of these systems is known to be challenging, typically requiring extensive calibration. Their complexity limits their use in commercial systems. An ideal OPA would have the capability to recalibrate and control itself as soon as some external condition (temperature change, time period without calibration, etc.) is reached and would pave the way for use in automotive, military, or space industries where performance has to be guaranteed across very large temperature ranges. Additional Technologies by these Inventors Tech ID/UC Case 29028/2018-095-0 Related Cases 2018-095-0
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