LASER BEAM POINTING USING DEFORMABLE HELIX FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTAL SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATORS

MECHANICAL BEAM STEERING SYSTEMS ARE LIMITED IN SPEED, COMPACTNESS, RELIABILITY, AND ACCURACY. SIMILAR DIFFICULTIES WERE ENCOUNTERED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RADAR SYSTEMS. IN THE CASE OF RADAR, THE DEVELOPMENT OF PHASED ARRAY ANTENNAS ALLOWED GREATER SPEED AND FLEXIBILITY THAN WAS EVER POSSIBLE USING MECHANICALLY STEERED ANTENNAS. ELECTROOPTIC TECHNOLOGIES EXIST WHICH ARE CANDIDATES FOR REPLACING MECHANICAL LASER BEAM STEERING SYSTEMS BY THE OPTICAL EQUIVALENT OF A PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA. OPTICAL PHASED ARRAYS (OPA) USING DEFORMABLE HELIX FERROELECTRIC LIQUID CRYSTAL (DHFLC) PHASE MODULATORS ARE LEADING CANDIDATES FOR ADVANCED BEAM STEERING APPLICATIONS. ADVANTAGES OF THIS TECHNOLOGY INCLUDE CONTINUOUSLY ADJUSTABLE 0-2 PI PHASE MODULATION, LOW POWER REQUIREMENTS AND DRIVING VOLTAGES ( V), AND HIGH SPEED ( US). OPTICAL PHASED ARRAYS HAVE THE ADVANTAGE THAT THEIR POINTING ACCURACY CAN BE IMPROVED JUST BY INCREASING THE NUMBER OF PIXELS IN AN ARRAY. THE GOAL OF THE PROPOSED WORK ARE TO PERFORM AN EXPERIMENTAL DEMONSTRATION OF THE PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE DEFORMABLE HELIX FLC BEAM POINTING ARRAY, FURTHER DEVELOP OUR ABILITY TO FABRICATE SUCH MATERIALS AND ARRAYS, PERFORM PRELIMINARY CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS OF MORE ADVANCED BEAM STEERING ARRAYS, AND DEVELOP PRELIMINARY DESIGNS FOR HIGH SPEED DRIVE ELECTRONICS.