US 11,914,190 B2
Optical-phased array beam-steerer
Pascual Muñoz Muñoz, Valencia (ES); Daniel Pastor Abellán, Valencia (ES); Jesús Benítez González, Valencia (ES); Gloria Micó Cabanes, Puzol (ES); Luis Alberto Bru Orgiles, Valencia (ES); and Dominic John Goodwill, Ottawa (CA)
Assigned to HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD., Shenzhen (CN)
Filed by HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD., Shenzhen (CN)
Filed on Jan. 21, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/581,045.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/141,192, filed on Jan. 25, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0236486 A1, Jul. 28, 2022
Int. Cl. G02B 6/34 (2006.01); G02B 6/28 (2006.01); G02B 27/00 (2006.01)
CPC G02B 6/2804 (2013.01) [G02B 6/34 (2013.01); G02B 27/0087 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical-phased array (OPA) beam-steerer comprising:
an optical switch comprising a switch input to receive light, the optical switch further comprising a plurality of switch outputs, the optical switch configured for selecting any one of the switch outputs and for directing the light to the selected switch output, the light having associated thereto an optical phase and a wavelength;
a star coupler (SC) comprising a plurality of SC inputs and a plurality of SC outputs, the SC inputs each coupled to a different switch output of the plurality of switch outputs to receive the light from the selected switch output, the SC configured to produce an optical phase relationship in the phase of the light at the plurality of SC outputs, the optical phase relationship depending from the selected switch output; and
a plurality of grating couplers, the grating couplers each coupled to a different SC output of the plurality of SC outputs to receive the light from the SC outputs, the grating couplers configured to emit a light beam from the light, the light beam having associated thereto a first angle of emission with respect to a horizontal direction in a field of view and a second angle of emission with respect to a vertical direction in the field of view, the first angle of emission depending from the optical phase relationship, the second angle of emission depending from the wavelength.