Study on the characteristics of novel optical phase array based on waveguide

A novel scheme of optical phase array(OPA) based on wave-guide is represented in this paper. Fiber paths is main design of system, the single mode fibers are used as transmission paths, photonic crystal fibers(PCF) are adopted as the output array, LiNbO₃ wave-guide is used as the phase modulator. The system configuration have been given in the paper, performance of main device such as LiNbO₃ wave-guide and PCF array are analyzed. According to the theory of OPA and electro-optical effect of LiNbO₃ wave-guide, the feasibility of system have been demonstrated. By adjusting the phase shift of each LiNbO₃ wave-guide, the beam deflection have been observed. Simulation experiments have been implemented to study the influence of its structure parameter on output diffraction characteristics. The results show that the inter-elements distance, the quantity of fiber core and arrangement of fiber core affect the beam steering quality including full width at half-maximum(FWHM), output intensity distribution and normalized amplitude distribution. The grating lobes can be suppressed by smaller distance, the beam scanning accuracy is improved by more units of fiber core. Then two-dimension arrangements of fiber core is analyzed. By adjusting the arrangements of the fiber core, the coupling coefficient and the coupling length between two fiber core in the PCF array are changed, which conduct the different output amplitude distribution. So the structure parameter of PCF array is main factor to the beam steering. With the development of craft for PCF, the research result will provide assistance for the design of OPA in the future.