An example system includes a high-side electrode layer having a first number of electrical members alternated with, and electrically coupled to adjacent ones of a second number of electrical members, where either the first number of electrical members or the second number of electrical members are discrete electrodes, and the other one of the first or second number of electrical members are resistors. Accordingly, the high-side electrode layer is formed from alternating discrete electrodes and resistors. The example system further includes a low-side electrode layer, and an electro-optic (EO) layer having an EO active material at least partially positioned between the high-side electrode layer and the low-side electrode layer, thereby forming a number of active cells of the EO layer.

A voltage-controlled optical wedge is formed by creating an adjustable voltage gradient along the length of a relatively large-sized LC cell. A pair of bias voltages (AC voltages) are applied at the opposing side terminations of the LC cell, their RMS values selected to create a continuous phase variation along the length of the cell, where a defined phase variation is associated with a specific beam steering angle. Adjustments in the applied bias voltages (specifically, changes in the RMS values of the bias voltages) result in changing the beam steering angle, providing for active, controllable beam steering as a function of time. The LC cell may be configured to provide either a linear or nonlinear continuous phase variation, as preferred for different beam steering applications.

A solid state electrically variable focal length lens includes a plurality of concentric rings of electro-optical material, wherein the electro-optical material comprises any material of a class of hydrogen-doped phase-change metal oxide and wherein each respective concentric ring further includes a transparent resistive sheet on a first face of the respective concentric ring, wherein the transparent resistive sheet extends along the first face, and a first voltage coupled between a first end and a second end of the transparent resistive sheet, wherein the first voltage may be varied to select an optical beam deflection angle.

An optical device may include at least two waveguides with different propagation constants. Each waveguide is associated with a grating antenna with a grating period selected to emit light at the same emission angle despite the different propagation constants. Each waveguide may be part of an optical path that includes phase shifters. Additionally, the waveguides may be formed in a waveguide layer that is separate from a perturbation layer in which the grating antennas as formed.

An electro-optic beam controller, material processing apparatus, or optical amplifier, and corresponding methods, can include an actively controlled, waveguide-based, optical spatial mode conversion device. The conversion device can include a coupler, which can be a photonic lantern, configured to combine light beams into a common light beam; a sensor configured to measure at least one characteristic of the common light beam; and a controller configured to modulate optical parameters of the individual, respective light beams to set one or more spatial modes of the common light beam. Actively controlled and modulated devices can be used to maintain a stable, diffraction-limited beam for use in an amplification, communications, imaging, laser radar, switching, or laser material processing system. Embodiments can also be used to maintain a fundamental or other spatial mode in an optical fiber even while scaling to kilowatt power.

Devices and systems to perform optical alignment by using one or more liquid crystal layers to actively steer a light beam from an optical fiber to an optical waveguide integrated on a chip. An on-chip feedback mechanism can steer the beam between the fiber and a grating based waveguide to minimize the insertion loss of the system.

A two-dimensional (2D) beam steering device may include a variable refractive index panel configured to generate a prism effect, a waveguide in contact with a surface of the variable refractive index panel, and an electro-optic prism disposed on a surface of the waveguide. The variable refractive index panel may include a variable refractive index layer, a common electrode layer, and an electrode pattern layer. The common electrode layer and the electrode pattern layer may face each other with the variable refractive index layer therebetween.

Provided are a light deflector and a light output device including the light deflector, the light deflector including a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer that are spaced apart from each other and facing each other, and a deflection layer configured to deflect incident light thereon based on a voltage applied to the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, wherein the first electrode layer includes a plurality of electrode elements that are spaced apart from each other, and a resistor that is in contact with at least part of the plurality of electrode elements and in which a voltage drop is generated.

A beam-steering optical transceiver is provided. The transceiver includes one or more modules, each comprising an antenna chip and a control chip bonded to the antenna chip. Each antenna chip has a feeder waveguide, a plurality of row waveguides that tap off from the feeder waveguide, and a plurality of metallic nanoantenna elements arranged in a two-dimensional array of rows and columns such that each row overlies one of the row waveguides. Each antenna chip also includes a plurality of independently addressable thermo-optical phase shifters, each configured to produce a thermo-optical phase shift in a respective row. Each antenna chip also has, for each row, a row-wise heating circuit configured to produce a respective thermo-optic phase shift at each nanoantenna element along its row. The control chip includes controllable current sources for the independently addressable thermo-optical phase shifters and the row-wise heating circuits.

A general method is provided for electronically reconfiguring the internal structure of a solid to allow precision control of the propagation of wave energy. The method allows digital or analog control of wave energy, such as but not limited to visible light, while maintaining low losses, a multi-octave bandwidth, polarization independence, large area and a large dynamic range in power handling. Embodiments of the technique are provided for large-angle beam steering, lenses and other devices to control wave energy.