A packaged integrated white light source configured for illumination and communication or sensing comprises one or more laser diode devices. An output facet configured on the laser diode device outputs a laser beam of first electromagnetic radiation with a first peak wavelength. The first wavelength from the laser diode provides at least a first carrier channel for a data or sensing signal.

A two-dimensional scalable high-power optical phased array architecture with beam steering is provided. The present disclosure is related to integrated optical transmitters wherein an array of antenna elements together with laser sources can transmit high-power optical signals. The optical transmitters can also beamform and steer the signal toward the desired direction. The architecture facilitates a simplified control of the delay tuning elements by using a single control signal for the entire row and single control signal for the entire column.

In some embodiments, an apparatus includes an optical transmitter module that can be electrically coupled to an electrical serializer/deserializer and a controller. The optical transmitter module can include an electrical detector that can receive an in-band signal. The electrical detector can send to the controller a first power error signal and a second power error signal based on the in-band signal. The controller can send a correction control signal to the electrical serializer/deserializer based on the first power error signal and the second power error signal such that the electrical serializer/deserializer sends a pre-emphasized signal to the optical transmitter module based on the correction control signal. In such embodiments, the first power error signal, the second power signal and the correction control signal are out-of-band signals.

An optical module includes an optical modulator that performs optical modulation of transmission data, an optical modulator controller that controls the optical modulator, a memory that stores corresponding relationships between temperatures and set data with which modulation of the optical modulator is to be performed at an operating point voltage, a temperature sensor that measures a temperature in the optical module; and a setting circuit that refers the memory and searches for set data corresponding to measured temperature, and set the set data to the optical modulator controller.

A smart light source configured for visible light communication. The light source includes a controller comprising a modem configured to receive a data signal and generate a driving current and a modulation signal based on the data signal. Additionally, the light source includes a light emitter configured as a pump-light device to receive the driving current for producing a directional electromagnetic radiation with a first peak wavelength in the ultra-violet or blue wavelength regime modulated to carry the data signal using the modulation signal. Further, the light source includes a pathway configured to direct the directional electromagnetic radiation and a wavelength converter optically coupled to the pathway to receive the directional electromagnetic radiation and to output a white-color spectrum. Furthermore, the light source includes a beam shaper configured to direct the white-color spectrum for illuminating a target of interest and transmitting the data signal.

Methods and systems for tuning a resonant modulator are disclosed. One method includes receiving a carrier signal modulated by the resonant modulator with a stream of data having an approximately equal number of high and low bits, determining an average power of the modulated carrier signal, comparing the average power to a predetermined threshold, and operating a tuning device coupled to the resonant modulator based on the comparison of the average power and the predetermined threshold. One system includes an input structure, a plurality of processing elements, and a digital control element. The input structure is configured to receive, from the resonant modulator, a modulated carrier signal. The plurality of processing elements are configured to determine an average power of the modulated carrier signal. The digital control element is configured to operate a tuning device coupled to the resonant modulator based on the average power of the modulated carrier signal.

An optical device may include a modulator. The modulator may receive an optical signal. The modulator may modulate the optical signal to include a first channel and a second channel. The modulator may modulate the optical signal based on a training pattern associated with detecting a skew. The modulator may cause the first channel to interfere with the second channel. The modulator may perform a power measurement on the first channel and the second channel. The modulator may determine the skew based on the power measurement and the training pattern. The modulator may time delay the first channel or the second channel to align the skew based on the skew.

A Mach Zehnder modulator operates by phase modulating split optical beams with a modulating signal to create dissimilarities in the optical characteristics between the split beams. When the beams are recombined, the dissimilarities gives rise to intensity modulations that are indicative of the modulating signal. One or both beams are modulated with an RF trimming signal. The trimming signal is applied asymmetrically across the two beams thereby reducing the intensity of the optical carrier frequency in one of the beams more than in the other. By selecting the size of the trimming signal the differences in the optical amplitude of the carrier frequency in the two beams can be nulled.

Various designs of optical interconnects and optical links may comprise one or more optically resonant electro-optical modulators used to modulate one or more optical carriers received from one or more lasers using one or more electronic input signals. A wavelength of each laser may be dynamically tuned using a control signal generated by a feedback control system to stabilize the electro-optical modulation of the optical carriers.

The present invention provides a system for control and guidance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) using modulated laser light in radio frequency (RF) contested environments. The system enables the user to send light signal communications to the UAV from a handheld device. In one embodiment, where the handheld device is capable of being incorporated into a firearm fore-grip with built-in controls that allow for control of the UAV by a user in a shooting/aiming position. The UAV includes an optical array for detecting and receiving the light signal communications, as well as filtering systems for filtering out unnecessary image data for better control in different weather and time conditions, as well as an avoidance system to avoid objects and other UAVs when used in a swarm of UAVs.