Paper
13 September 2011 A new photonics technology platform and its applicability for coded aperture techniques
Scott R. Davis, Scott D. Rommel, George Farca, Benjamin Luey, Neil Rebolledo, Stephanie Selwyn, Michael H. Anderson
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
An emergent electro-optic technology platform, liquid crystal (LC) waveguides, will be presented with a focus on performance attributes that may be relevant to coded aperture approaches. As a low cost and low SWaP alternative to more traditional approaches (e.g. galvos, MEMs, traditional EO techniques, etc.), LC-Waveguides provide a new technique for switching, phase shifting, steering, focusing, and generally controlling light. LC-waveguides provide tremendous continuous voltage control over optical phase delays (> 2mm demonstrated), with very low loss (< 0.5 dB/cm) and rapid response time. The electro-evanescent architecture exploits the tremendous electro-optic response of liquid crystals (can be > one million pm/Volts) while circumventing their historic limitations; speeds can be in the microseconds and LC scattering losses can be reduced by orders of magnitude from conventional LC optics. This enables a new class of photonic devices: very wide analog non-mechanical beamsteerers (270° demonstrated), chip-scale widely tunable lasers (50 nm demonstrated), chip-scale Fourier transform spectrometers (< 5 nm resolution demonstrated), widely tunable micro-ring resonators, tunable lenses (fl tuning from 5 mm to infinity demonstrated), ultra-low power (< 5 microWatts) optical switches, true optical time delay devices (12 nsecs demonstrated) for phased array antennas, and many more. Both the limitations and the opportunity provided by this technology for use in coded aperture schemes will be discussed.
© (2011) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Scott R. Davis, Scott D. Rommel, George Farca, Benjamin Luey, Neil Rebolledo, Stephanie Selwyn, and Michael H. Anderson "A new photonics technology platform and its applicability for coded aperture techniques", Proc. SPIE 8165, Unconventional Imaging, Wavefront Sensing, and Adaptive Coded Aperture Imaging and Non-Imaging Sensor Systems, 81651E (13 September 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.895958
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KEYWORDS
Liquid crystals

Waveguides

Scanners

Electrodes

Phased array optics

Electro optics

Cladding

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