Fast, closed-loop iterative system-on-chip of deflection efficiency enhancement for a liquid crystal optical phased...

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Photonics
• Free-space optical communication

Background:

• Liquid Crystal Optical Phased Arrays (LC-OPA) are crucial for free-space laser communication terminals.
• Key parameters for LC-OPA implementation include insertion loss and closed-loop bandwidth for acquisition-tracking-pointing (ATP) systems.
• Existing solutions often rely on conventional PC-based systems, which can be slow and power-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a real-time hardware platform for LC-OPA implementation.
• To propose and test a novel optimization algorithm for enhancing LC-OPA deflection efficiency.
• To demonstrate the practical feasibility of LC-OPA in free-space laser communication.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a ZYNQ platform, a field-programmable-gate-array-based heterogeneous System-on-Chip (SoC), for real-time response and accelerated data generation.
• Proposed a novel optimization algorithm based on dimension reduction of objective variables.
• Conducted numerical simulations and experimental validation of the integrated SoC platform.

Main Results:

• The integrated SoC platform demonstrated a 15.8 times faster iterative speed compared to conventional PC-based systems.
• Achieved rapid convergence rate and excellent robustness in beam steering and enhancement.
• The efficiency enhancement process was completed in seconds, regardless of beam angle.

Conclusions:

• The ZYNQ-based SoC platform provides a significant advancement for LC-OPA implementation in practical applications.
• This approach offers substantial improvements in speed, efficiency, and robustness while reducing power, size, and cost.
• The developed system lays the foundation for practical, in-line applications of LC-OPAs in laser communication.