Novel Ultra-Compact Electro-Optic Beam Steering Device

It is well known that lasers are used in numerous military and civilian applications. Many laser-based systems, such as laser weapons, rely on beam steering. Advanced mass storage technologies, in particular, depend on scanning laser beams for reading and writing information. There has been a need for a beam-steering device that eliminates the complexity and the sluggishness of present methods and reduces the size required. Reveo has invented such a device. The so called, Electro-Optical Beam Steering Device, is ultra-compact and provides switching speeds of less than a microsecond, limited only by material constraints. There is no known technology that can deliver these levels of performance. The invention makes use of a new class of materials, cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) polymers, that have the unique property of transmitting right-circularly polarized light and reflecting left-circularly polarized light or vice versa. In Phase I, various cholesteric liquid crystal polymer blends will be synthesized to optimize the transmit/reflectance properties. A simple prototype will be demonstrated to provide proof of concept. During Phase II, the resolution and complexity will be increased as well as exploring CLC polymers that allow different wavelengths to be transmitted/reflected. Anticipated Benefits: Electro-Optic beam steering is an ideal candidate for dual use. Advanced mass storage technologies, in particular, depend on scanning laser beams for reading and writing information. In addition to is use in mass storate, Reveo's radically new beam-steering device can also be used for many other purposes such as laser weapons, holographic storage, laser radar's, and other advanced optical systems.