Blueprint for Large-Scale Silicon Optical Phased Array Using Electro-Optical Micro-Ring Pixels.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Integrated Optics
• Silicon Photonics

Background:

• Optical phased arrays (OPAs) are crucial for beam steering applications.
• Existing OPA designs face challenges in scalability and integration.
• Silicon photonics offers a promising platform for miniaturized and cost-effective photonic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel modularized architecture for large-scale optical phased arrays (OPAs).
• To demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the proposed OPA design on a silicon on insulator (SOI) platform.
• To analyze the scalability and fabrication tolerance of the OPA architecture.

Main Methods:

• Design of compact electro-optical (EO) pixels (50 μm × 50 μm) integrating directional couplers, micro-ring phase shifters, and grating optical antennas.
• Development of a 32 × 32 EO pixel OPA blueprint.
• Analysis of OPA performance under over-coupled conditions for balanced modulation efficiency and intensity modulation.
• Evaluation of fabrication tolerance and interconnection complexity.

Main Results:

• Achieved a main lobe width of 0.04° × 0.04° and a field of view of 1.78° for the 32 × 32 OPA.
• Demonstrated that the over-coupled condition balances modulation efficiency and intensity modulation, mitigating performance degradation.
• Confirmed the robustness and feasibility of the proposed architecture with state-of-the-art fabrication processes.
• Showcased linear scalability of interconnection complexity with system size.

Conclusions:

• The proposed modularized OPA architecture on SOI is highly scalable and feasible for fabrication.
• The design offers excellent beam steering capabilities with potential for further optimization.
• This work paves the way for large-scale integrated photonic systems for advanced optical applications.