Co-boresighted optical and RF phased array and photonic integrated circuit
US10686523B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 22, 2019 |
| Grant date | Jun 16, 2020 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 22, 2039 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S2013/0254
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) provides a common architecture to feed both optical and RF phased arrays to produce steerable co-boresighted optical and RF beams from a single chip. The PIC may be used for guidance, mobile data links, autonomous vehicles and 5G cellular communications. A plurality of switches are monolithically fabricated on the PIC with the optical feed network to switch the optical power of the phase-modulated optical channel signals between the integrated optical antennas and the RF antennas to produce steerable optical and RF beams. The photo-detectors and RF antennas may be discrete components or integrated with the optical feed network. To ensure that the optical and RF beams are co-boresighted (within a specified angular tolerance) for the same steering commands, the PIC is positioned within the RF antenna array footprint.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.