A pointing unit (100) for use with a free space optical (FSO) communications terminal (105) that includes an optical arrangement (101) of one or more optically transmissive steering elements (101a, 101b). The steering elements (101a, 101b) are arranged in an optical path of an incident beam (107) entering the optical arrangement (100), and the orientation of at least one element (101a, 101b), and the refractive index of at least one element (101a, 101b), are controllable to steer a beam (107b) towards a target (110).

An object is to provide a liquid crystal diffraction element that has small wavelength dependence of diffraction efficiency and diffracts light having the same wavelength at the same angle, an optical element including the liquid crystal diffraction element, and an image display unit, a head-mounted display, a beam steering, and a sensor including the liquid crystal diffraction element or the optical element. The liquid crystal diffraction element includes an optically-anisotropic layer that includes a liquid crystal compound, in which the optically-anisotropic layer has a liquid crystal alignment pattern in which a direction of an optical axis of the liquid crystal compound continuously rotates in one in-plane direction, and in an image obtained by observing a cross-section of the optically-anisotropic layer with a scanning electron microscope, the optically-anisotropic layer has bright portions and dark portions extending from one surface to another surface, each of the dark portions has two or more inflection points of angle, and the optically-anisotropic layer has regions where tilt directions of the dark portions are different from each other in the thickness direction.

A method for directing light beams includes generating a light beam along a light path. A voltage differential is created by generating a voltage in a first and second linear electrode contacts arranged such that the first and second linear electrical contacts alternate with each other. The light path is altered by passing the light beam through a liquid crystal device coupled to the first and second linear electrical contacts.

A steerable laser transmitter and situational awareness sensor uses a liquid crystal waveguide (LCWG) to steer a spot-beam onto a conical mirror, which in turn redirects the spot-beam to scan a FOV. The spot-beam passes through one or more annular sections of non-linearly material (NLM) formed along the axis and around the conical mirror. Each NLM section converts the wavelength of the spot-beam to a different wavelength while preserving the steering of the spot-beam. The LCWG may shape or move the spot-beam along the axis of the conic mirror to sequentially, time or time and spatially multiplex the spot-beam between the original and different wavelengths. This provides multispectral capability from a single laser source. The transmitter also supports steering the spot-beam at a wavelength at which the LCWG cannot steer directly.

Example embodiments relate to multilevel coupling for phase front engineering. An example integrated optical structure for phase front engineering of optical beams includes a substrate. The integrated optical structure also includes a plurality of optical layers formed on the substrate. Each of the optical layers includes an optical phased array that includes a plurality of optical waveguides. Each of the optical layers also includes a coupling section for each of the optical waveguides. Each coupling section is configured to control the phase of an optical beam coupling out of the optical waveguide. Additionally, the integrated optical structure includes a slab waveguide formed on the substrate and between two of the optical layers. The slab waveguide is in optical communication with the coupling sections of the two optical layers. The slab waveguide includes a slab waveguide outcoupling structure.

An image displacement device includes a first grating and a second grating. The first grating has a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the first surface receives image beams, and the image beams leave the first grating by the second surface. The second grating is disposed downstream from the first grating in a light path and has a third surface and a fourth surface opposite the third surface. The third surface receives the image beams, and the image beams leave the second grating by the fourth surface. The image beams are projected to form a plane image comprised of pixels, each pixel is displaced in a direction by the image displacement device, and a displacement of each pixel is smaller than five times a width of one pixel.

An optical beam steering system comprises an array of optical elements for generating or detecting optical signals, a coarse beam steering system for steering a beam between grating lobes, and a fine beam steering system for steering the beam within a grating lobe imposed by the coarse beam steering system. It can be applied the problem of providing an optical phased array system that has both a wide range of steering angles and good angular resolution with a reasonable number of array elements. By moving the lens array or controlling a liquid crystal cell, power is steered into different grating lobes. Adding a phase shifter for controlling the relative phase of the optical signals corresponding to the optical elements enables steering within the selected lobe.

A non-mechanical light-guiding device not subject to vehicular or other vibration includes a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer, and a light-guiding layer between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer. The first electrode layer is configured to receive a first voltage and reflect a laser light received. The second electrode layer is configured to receive a second voltage. A reflection angle of the laser light is controlled by deformation of the first electrode layer under the first voltage and the second voltage and changes therein, and the light-guiding layer controls a propagation direction of the laser light according to the respective magnitudes of the first voltage and the second voltage.

A surgically implanted ocular optical array that can be used in both therapeutic and diagnostic applications is described. A device configured to be implanted in an eye includes: an imaging system that receives visible light incoming to the eye; optical source generating circuitry that generates an optical signal based on the light received by the imaging system; and an optical phased array (OPA) that generates and projects an image onto a retina of the eye in which the device is implanted, the image being based on the optical signal generated by the optical source generating circuitry.

An optical diffraction grating includes a layer of organic solid crystal (OSC) material, an input photonic element configured to couple an input beam to the organic solid crystal material, and an output photonic element configured to receive an output beam from the organic solid crystal material. An applied voltage may be used to control the refractive index of the OSC material and accordingly tune the operation of the optical diffraction grating.