CAREER: Integrated Visible-Light Optical-Phased-Array-Based Devices, Systems, and Applications

Integrated optical phased arrays (OPAs) enable emission and dynamic control of free-space light in a compact form factor, at low costs, and in a non-mechanical way. Motivated by initial applications in LiDAR sensing for autonomous vehicles, integrated OPA demonstrations so far have primarily focused on systems operating at infrared wavelengths and emphasizing non-mechanically beam steering. There are wide-reaching and high-impact applications including augmented-reality (AR) displays, optical trapping for biphotonics, and 3D printing which require OPAs operating at visible wavelengths and generating complex reconfigurable holographic emission profiles. This work targets corresponding development of novel integrated silicon photonics OPA-based platforms, devices, and systems complemented by proof-of-concept demonstrations of chip-based AR displays, optical traps, and 3D printers. The novel OPAs will impact wide range of consumer, military, and medical applications. The proposed mentoring, and outreach initiatives will engage and support students with a wide range of backgrounds at the K12, undergraduate, and graduate level. This project will include novel fundamental-science developments in integrated visible-light OPA-based platforms, devices, and systems, and exploratory proof-of-concept visible-light OPA-based application demonstrations. This will include development of (1) novel OPA-based system architectures that enable reconfigurable holographic emission profiles and compatibility with the entire visible spectrum, including the first visible-light 2D-beam-steering OPAs, active holographic and focusing OPAs; (2) a suite of novel integrated visible-light devices, including the first visible-light liquid-crystal-based modulators for compact and low-power modulation, unidirectional visible-light grating-based antennas for efficient emission, actively-tunable visible-light grating-based antennas, and optimized broadband passive devices for compact spectrum-spanning routing; (3) new 300-mm wafer-scale visible-light fabrication platform with unique transparent and flexible substrate capabilities; and (4) novel visible-light OPA-based application demonstrations, including the first integrated-photonics-based holographic AR display, OPA-based optical trap, and chip-based 3D printer. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.