Realization of a wide steering end-fire facet optical phased array using silicon rich silicon nitride

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a 16-element silicon rich silicon nitride optical phased array capable of wide (>115°) beam steering at 1525 nm, highlighting SRN's suitability for chip-scale optical beam steering applications.

Contribution

The work introduces a novel 16-element SRN-based optical phased array with wide steering range and detailed characterization, showcasing SRN's advantages for integrated photonics.

Findings

Achieved >115° beam steering range at 1525 nm

Measured a 0.11° spot size at boresight

Confirmed SRN's high thermo-optic coefficient and low propagation loss

Abstract

The design, fabrication, and characterization of a 16-element optical phased array (OPA) using a high index (n = 3.1) silicon rich silicon nitride (SRN) is demonstrated. We present one-dimensional beam steering with end-fire facet antennas over a wide steering range of >115{\deg} at a fixed wavelength of 1525 nm. A spot size of 0.11{\deg} has been measured at boresight, consistent with theory. We demonstrate SRN as a viable material choice for chip-scale OPA applications due to its high thermo-optic coefficient, high optical power handling capacity due to negligible two-photon absorption (TPA), wide transparency window, low propagation loss, and CMOS compatibility.