An ultra-long sub-wavelength grating as an optical antenna for optical phased arrays includes a top structure and a bottom structure which are vertically stacked. The bottom structure is made of a material with a refractive index lower than a refractive index of the top structure. The top structure is made of a material with a refractive index higher than that of the bottom structure. A strip waveguide is disposed in the middle of the top structure. subwavelength blocks are disposed periodically on two sides of the straight strip waveguides. The invention has the following beneficial effects. The structure could increase the effective length of the grating; uniform near field distribution can be achieved by controlling the positions of the subwavelength blocks. The structure is simpler with lower fabrication requirements and lower cost.

A dispersive optical phased array for two-dimensional scanning is disclosed herein. The array comprises antenna blocks positioned adjacent one another. The antenna blocks comprise a plurality of antennas positioned adjacent one another and a plurality of delay lines to couple a coherent source signal to each of the antennas within the block, each delay line having an optical path length. Each of the antenna blocks acts as a dispersive phased array. The antenna blocks are arranged such that the blocks form a larger phased array where the antennas between the blocks are in phase for a discrete set of wavelengths. All antennas over the dispersive phased array can experience the same phase difference such that the beams of the individual antenna blocks align with one of the diffraction orders of the array of blocks.

There is provided an object tracker comprising: a first waveguide; a source of illumination light; a detector optically coupled to said waveguide; and at least one grating lamina formed within said waveguide. Illumination light propagating along a first optical path from said source to an object in relative motion to the object tracker. Image light reflected from at least one surface of an object is deflected by said grating lamina into a second optical path towards said detector.

An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log.sub.2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.

A device includes an optical splitter comprising a plurality of splitter outputs. The splitter outputs are out of phase and include a non-uniform phase front. The device includes a one-dimensional phase compensation array communicating with the optical splitter. The phase compensation array receives the non-uniform phase front and outputs a uniform phase front. The phase compensation array includes a plurality of array outputs. The device includes a tunable linear gradient phase shifter communicating with said phase compensation array to impart a linearly-varying phase shift across said plurality of array outputs, thereby steering a beam along a first angle in a first plane. The device includes a waveguide grating out-coupler communicating with said linear gradient phase shifter, and a uniform phase shifter communicating with the waveguide grating out-coupler. The uniform phase shifter steers the flat phase front along a second angle in a second plane perpendicular to said first plane.

A method includes illuminating a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) of a transmit aperture of a laser communication terminal and a PIC of a receive aperture of the laser communication terminal with multi-wavelength light, where each PIC includes multiple antenna elements forming an optical phased array (OPA). The method also includes determining light intensities of different wavelengths of the multi-wavelength light after the multi-wavelength light has passed through each PIC. The method further includes estimating phases of light associated with the antenna elements based on variations in the light intensities. In addition, the method includes adjusting one or more phase shifters of at least one of the PICs based on the estimated phases of light.

A phase modulator for a light beam comprising a waveguide having a longitudinal axis, and a piezoelectric actuator to apply a mechanical stress within said waveguide in response to an electrical bias, said actuator comprising a first part covering a first side of the waveguide and having a first axis of symmetry essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis. The actuator comprises a second part covering a second side of the waveguide, said second part having a second axis of symmetry essentially parallel to the longitudinal axis.

Provided is a novel beam delivery system for quantum computing applications that includes a beam delivery photonic integrated circuit on a chip and an optical relay assembly. The beam delivery photonic integrated circuit on a chip may contain one or more layers, and a layer may contain one or more inputs connecting one or more outputs. The optical relay assembly receives a beam or beams from one or more outputs from a layer of the beam delivery photonic integrated circuit. The optical relay assembly focuses each received beam on a corresponding position of an atomic object confinement apparatus.

An optical phased array comprises a first substrate layer, and a first device array on the first substrate layer. The first device array includes a first set of emitters and a first set of waveguides. Each waveguide in the first set of waveguides is respectively coupled to one of the emitters in the first set of emitters. A second substrate layer is over the first substrate layer in a stacked configuration, and a second device array is on the second substrate layer. The second device array includes a second set of emitters and a second set of waveguides. Each waveguide in the second set of waveguides is respectively coupled to one of the emitters in the second set of emitters. The second sets of emitters and waveguides are positioned on the second substrate to be offset with respect to the first sets of emitters and waveguides on the first substrate.

Embodiments relate to a photonic component having a metasurface. The metasurface includes a substrate with a thin-layer of meta-atoms disposed thereon. The photonic component includes a waveguide having a top surface, wherein the metasurface is disposed on at least a portion of the top surface such that the meta-atoms form an array on the top surface. The photonic component includes a sandwich nano-bar antenna formed in or on the metasurface.