Planar Luneburg lens system for two-dimensional optical beam steering

US11163116B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · US

Inventors

• Josue Lopez · Flagstaff, US
• Samuel Kim · Aliso Viejo, US
• Jamison Sloan · Somerville, US
• Boris Kharas · Brooklyn, US
• Jeffrey S. Herd · Rowley, US
• Marin Soljacic · Belmont, US
• Cheryl Marie SORACE-AGASKAR · Bedford, US
• Suraj Deepak Bramhavar · Arlington, US
• Steven G. Johnson · McLeansboro, US
• George Barbastathis · Boston, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 28, 2020
• Grant date: Nov 2, 2021
• Expiry date: Feb 28, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B2006/12107
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar Luneburg lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes a curved (e.g., semi-circular or arced) grating coupler that diffracts the collimated beams out of the lens plane. The beams can be steered in the plane by controlling the direction along which the lens is illuminated and out of the plane by varying the beam wavelength. Unlike other beam steering devices, this device can operate over an extremely wide field of view—up to 180°—without any aberrations off boresight. In other words, the beam quality is uniform in all directions, unlike with aplanatic lenses, thanks to the circular symmetry of the planar Luneburg lens, which may be composed of subwavelength features. The lens is also robust to misalignment and fabrication imperfections and can be made using standard CMOS processes.