A new electro-optic waveguide architecture and the unprecedented devices it enables

Scott R. Davis; Scott D. Rommel; George Farca; Michael H. Anderson

doi:10.1117/12.783780

24 March 2008 A new electro-optic waveguide architecture and the unprecedented devices it enables

Scott R. Davis, Scott D. Rommel, George Farca, Michael H. Anderson

Proceedings Volume 6975, Enabling Photonics Technologies for Defense, Security, and Aerospace Applications IV; 697503 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.783780
Event: SPIE Defense and Security Symposium, 2008, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

A new electro-optic waveguide platform, which provides unprecedented electro-optical phase delays (> 1mm), with very low loss (< 0.5 dB/cm) and rapid response time (sub millisecond), is presented. This technology, developed by Vescent Photonics, is based upon a unique liquid-crystal waveguide geometry, which exploits the tremendous electro-optic response of liquid crystals while circumventing historic limitations of liquid crystals. The exceedingly large optical phase delays accessible with this technology enable the design and construction of a new class of previously unrealizable photonic devices. Examples include: a 1-D non-mechanical, analog beamsteerer with an 80° field of regard, a chip-scale widely tunable laser, a chip-scale Fourier transform spectrometer (< 5 nm resolution demonstrated), widely tunable micro-ring resonators, tunable lenses, ultra-low power (< 5 microWatts) optical switches, true optical time delay (up to 10 ns), and many more. All of these devices may benefit from established manufacturing technologies and ultimately may be as inexpensive as a calculator display. Furthermore, this new integrated photonic architecture has applications in a wide array of commercial and defense markets including: remote sensing, micro-LADAR, OCT, laser illumination, phased array radar, optical communications, etc. Performance attributes of several example devices are presented.

Citation Download Citation

Scott R. Davis, Scott D. Rommel, George Farca, and Michael H. Anderson "A new electro-optic waveguide architecture and the unprecedented devices it enables", Proc. SPIE 6975, Enabling Photonics Technologies for Defense, Security, and Aerospace Applications IV, 697503 (24 March 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.783780

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