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Authors: C. Errando-Herranz, N. Le Thomas, K. B. Gylfason
Title: Low-power optical beam steering by microelectromechanical waveguide gratings
Format: International Journal
Publication date: 2/2019
Journal/Conference/Book: Optics Letters
Editor/Publisher: OSA, 
Volume(Issue): 44(4)
Location: United States
DOI: 10.1364/OL.44.000855
Citations: 29 (Dimensions.ai - last update: 6/10/2024)
22 (OpenCitations - last update: 27/6/2024)
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Abstract

Optical beam steering is key for optical communications, laser mapping (lidar), and medical imaging. For these ap- plications, integrated photonics is an enabling technology that can provide miniaturized, lighter, lower-cost, and more power-efficient systems. However, common integrated photonic devices are too power demanding. Here, we exper- imentally demonstrate, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, beam steering by microelectromechanical (MEMS) actuation of a suspended silicon photonic wave- guide grating. Our device shows up to 5.6 degrees beam steering with 20 V actuation and power consumption below the μW level, i.e., more than five orders of magnitude lower power consumption than previous thermo-optic tuning methods. The novel combination of MEMS with integrated photonics presented in this work lays ground for the next generation of power-efficient optical beam steering systems.

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