Design Considerations for Monolithic Beam Formers Based on Electro-Optic Polymer Phase Modulators and Strain-Induced Optical Waveguides - Postprint.

摘要

The fabrication and characterization of a 1x4-element integrated beam former based on electro-optic (EO) polymer phase modulators (PM) is summarized including findings related to waveguide loss, near-, and far-field diffraction patterns. Based on this device, two alternate designs are proposed to improve performance: an unequally spaced 1x4-element and an equally spaced 1x8-element beam former both based on EO polymer PMs. Models of these alternative designs indicate that waveguide propagation loss and strong grating lobes, both of which degraded the performance of the initial device, can be substantially improved. The proposed approach explored by the 8-element beam former introduces novel components including strain-induced optical waveguides, hybrid integration of active and passive polymers, modified waveguide diffraction aperture, and directional coupler thermo-optic (TO) switches.