Polarization multiplexing silicon photonic optical phased array with a wide scanning range

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a polarization multiplexed silicon optical phased array (OPA) with a wide scanning range. The two polarization states share the same power splitter tree and the phase shifter array. A polarization switch is introduced in front of the power splitter tree to manipulate the polarization state of the light in OPA. Through a polarization splitter–rotator (PSR), the light of two polarization states propagates into the superlattice grating antenna array. The wavelength tuning efficiency could be doubled by optimizing the parameters of the waveguide grating. We demonstrate the scheme on the commonly used 220 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. Experimental results indicate that the 24.8° vertical scanning range could be realized with a high wavelength tuning efficiency of 0.31°/nm. The measured field of view (FOV) is 24.8 × 60°.