Guided-Wave Antenna Induced by Light for Seeker Applications

A totally new class of guided-wave MMW antenna is proposed. The antenna's beamsteering and beamforming capabilities are based on light-induced grating coupler. The waveguide antenna is made of a semiconductor. A grating pattern is imposed on the waveguide by illumination with light through a spatial light modulator. The grating pattern can be rapidly rewritten by light alone, performing radar functions and offering a simple substitute for a phased-array antenna. Physical Optics Corporation's R&D Division (POC R&D) has already demonstrated theoretically and experimentally the semiconductor's ability to change the direction of a propagated MMW by diffraction off a light-induced grating. Extending this principle to the guided-wave antenna, POC will design and fabricate a receiver antenna prototype with a detector integrated onto the waveguide. Such an integrated, compact antenna which requires no phase-shifting elements is especially valuable for seeker applications. Moreover, using FaAs as a waveguide material opens a prospect for mass production MMIC technology. The laboratory prototype of the guided-wave antenna induced by light (GAIL) demonstrated at the end of the Phase I project will prove the viability of the proposed new approach.