KEYWORDS: Satellite communications, Optical arrays, Telecommunications, Satellites, Free space optics, Optical components, Optical communications, Free space optical communications, Control systems, Chemical elements
The demand for optical technologies in space is growing rapidly driven by the advent of low-earth orbit satellite “mega-constellations” providing global communication services. Free space optical communications between satellites in low earth orbit presents a number of technology challenges related to maintaining stable links between two satellites separated by thousands of kilometers. One principal challenge is the development of mechanically robust, mass-producible beam-steering technologies with low SWaP, and recurring cost. One potential solution to this challenge is to replace costly mechanical steering mechanisms with beam-steering elements such as on-chip optical phase arrays. This work presents ongoing research towards the development of an on-chip wide-steering optical phase array for inter-satellite communications. The presentation will cover the system architecture, component design, and control algorithms for synchronizing many emitters into a single output beam.
Optomechanical coupling produced by high finesse optical micro-cavities has led to a plethora of nonlinear observations in silicon photonics due to the coherent nature of the interaction. We have investigated optomechanical coupling in the dielectric-like cavity modes of photonic crystal edge defects. These structures exhibit extreme sensitivity to changes of the edge defect width, allowing for scaling of the edge length and a reduction of the optical finesse required to produce different phenomena independent of the edge width. The edge defect structures presented have relatively simpler fabrication relative to other optomechanical designs of comparable coupling strength. We report frequency combing in long linear edge defects and optical bi-stability in shorter, hexagonally coupled edge defect devices. These results indicate that photonic crystal edge defects offer an exciting platform for the development of new optomechanical devices.
We present a suspended-element silicon photonic crystal membrane sensor with a diaphragm area of 12 μm by 15 μm suitable for free-space ultrasonic acoustic measurements. The sensor is based on the position-dependent directional coupling between neighbouring photonic crystal edges and exhibits compatibility with broadband optical sources, low insertion loss, and more freedom in the mechanical design. By tuning the wavelength such that both time-averaged outputs of the directional coupler were balanced, a differential detection scheme was implemented where common noise sources were suppressed while enhancing the sensor signal without additional photonic components. Using a coiled speaker, the dynamic acoustic response of the sensor from 10 kHz to 80 kHz was measured and we report a peak system response in the difference signal at 40 kHz with a sensitivity of 40 μV/Pa. The compact size and improved mechanical frequency response of these integrated photonic sensors make them suitable for array applications, particularly for the study of fluid dynamics involving high Reynolds number phenomena.
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