Micromirror based optical phased array for wide-angle beamsteering

Abstract

Optical phased array (OPA) is a key enabling element for solid state LIDAR (light detection and ranging). In this paper, we demonstrate a novel MEMS micromirror array OPA. Vertical combdrive actuators are integrated underneath the mirrors to achieve a small pitch (2.4μm) and a large field of view (22° at 905nm wavelength and 40° at 1550nm). The OPA has 2μs response time, and 10V actuation voltage.