Photonic imaging array

US10731964B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Benjamin F. Lane · Grafton, US
• Steven J. Spector · Lexington, US
• Alan Zhou · Cambridge, US
• Julian A. Brown · Cambridge, US
• Michael G. Moebius · Somerville, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 3, 2017
• Grant date: Aug 4, 2020
• Expiry date: Jun 2, 2038

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B6/2861
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A multi-beam optical phased array on a single planar waveguide layer or a small number of planar waveguide layers enables building an optical sensor that performs much like a significantly larger telescope. Imaging systems use planar waveguides created using micro-lithographic techniques. These imagers are variants of “phased arrays,” common and familiar from microwave radar applications. However, there are significant differences when these same concepts are applied to visible and infrared light.