OMEGA OPTICS, INC. — Department of Defense STTR Phase I: N17A-T001

Description

This STTR Phase I project aims at developing a wafer scale surface normal two-dimensional slow light photonic crystal waveguide array in silicon carbide for optical beam steering. Due to slow light effect, it provides the required phase shift larger than liquid crystal with only 6.5micron interaction length while maintaining the pixel (emitter) to pixel separation small enough to cover the total two-dimensional field of view (TFOV) of 45o45o. Phase shifting between array elements is achieved via electro-optic effects enabled by photonic crystal hole infiltrated electro-optic polymers (300pm/V) or the intrinsic electro-optic effect of silicon carbide (~6.5pm/V). A previously demonstrated two-dimensional unequally spaced emitter array architecture promises the potential for a single lobe in the far field with side lobe suppression greater than 20dB. Using previously demonstrated methods to bias each individual emitter element in a dense photonic crystal microcavity array, the ability to generate slow down factors >100 in photonic crystal waveguide geometries and single step lithography fabrication, our generic technology is applicable to any appropriate transparent substrate for optical beam steering over the entire wavelength range from visible to mid- and far-infrared. Fast electro-optic switching enables imaging the TFOV several times per second.