Modular optical phased array

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11456532-B2
Application number	US-201715587391-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 4, 2017
Priority date	May 4, 2016
Publication date	Sep 27, 2022
Grant date	Sep 27, 2022

Abstract

A phased array includes, in part, M×N photonic chips each of which includes, in part, an array of transmitters and an array of receivers. At least one of M and/or N is an integer greater than one. The transmitter arrays in each pair of adjacent photonics chips are spaced apart by a first distance and the receiver arrays in each pair of adjacent photonics chips are spaced apart by a second distance. The first and second distances are co-prime numbers. Optionally, at least a second subset of the M×N photonic chips is formed by rotating a first subset of the M×N photonic chips.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A phased array comprising M×N photonic chips each comprising a two-dimensional array of transmitters disposed along a first plurality of rows and columns and a two-dimensional array of receivers disposed along a second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between the transmitter arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips is defined by a first value and wherein a distance between the receiver arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers, and wherein at least one of M or N is an integer greater than one.

2. The phased array of claim 1 wherein a position of at least a second one of the M×N photonic chips is defined by a rotation about either an x-axis or y-axis of a first one of the M×N photonic chips.

3. The phased array of claim 1 wherein a distance between a transmitter array of a photonic chip and an edge of the photonic chip in which the transmitter array is disposed is substantially one half the first value.

4. The phased array of claim 1 wherein a distance between a receiver array of a photonic chip and an edge of the photonic chip in which the receiver array is disposed is substantially one half the second value.

5. A phased array comprising at least first and second phased array sub-blocks, each phased array sub-block comprising M×N photonic chips, each chip comprising a two-dimensional array of transmitters disposed along a first plurality of rows and columns, and a two-dimensional array of receivers disposed along a second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between the transmitter arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips in each phased array sub-block is defined by a first value and wherein a distance between the receiver arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips in each phased array sub-block is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers, and wherein at least one of M or N is an integer greater than one.

6. The phased array of claim 5 wherein a position of at least a second one of the M×N photonic chips in each phased array sub-block is defined by a rotation about either an x-axis or y-axis of a first one of the M×N photonic chips of the phased-array sub-block.

7. A phased array comprising:
a first M transceivers disposed along a first plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between each pair of adjacent transceivers of the first M transceivers is defined by a first value;
a second N transceiver arrays disposed along a second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between each pair of adjacent transceivers of the second N transceivers is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers, and wherein the first M transceivers and the second N transceivers include at least one common transceiver, and wherein at least one of M or N is an integer greater than one.

8. A method of forming a phased array, the method comprising:
forming a first array of photonic chips each comprising a two-dimensional array of transmitters disposed along a first plurality of rows and columns and a two-dimensional array of receivers disposed along a second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between the transmitter arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips is defined by a first value and wherein a distance between the receiver arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein at least a second subset of the photonic chips is formed by rotating a first subset of the photonic chips.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein a distance between a transmitter array of a photonic chip and an edge of the photonic chip in which the transmitter array is disposed is substantially one half the first value.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein a distance between a receiver array of a photonic chip and an edge of the photonic chip in which the transmitter array is disposed is substantially one half the second value.

12. A method of forming a phased array, the method comprising:
forming a first two-dimensional array of photonic chips each comprising a two-dimensional array of transmitters disposed along a first plurality of rows and columns, and a two-dimensional array of receivers disposed along a second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between the transmitter arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips in the first array is defined by a first value and wherein a distance between the receiver arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips in the first array is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers; and
forming a second two-dimensional array of photonic chips each comprising a two-dimensional array of transmitters disposed along the first plurality of rows and columns, and a two-dimensional array of receivers disposed along the second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between the transmitter arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips across the first or second array is defined by the first value and wherein a distance between the receiver arrays of each pair of adjacent photonics chips across the first and second array is defined by the second value.

13. A method of forming a phased array the method comprising:
disposing a first M transceivers along a first plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between each pair of adjacent transceivers of the first M transceivers is defined by a first value;
disposing a second N transceiver arrays along a second plurality of rows and columns, wherein a distance between each pair of adjacent transceivers of the second N transceivers is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers, and wherein the first M transceivers and the second N transceivers include at least one common transceiver, and wherein at least one of M or N is an integer greater than one.

14. A method of forming a phased array, the method comprising:
disposing M transmitters along a first plurality of rows and columns to form a first two-dimensional array;
disposing N receivers along a second plurality of rows and columns to form a second two-dimensional array; and
disposing a transceiver in the first and second arrays such that transceiver is common to both the first and second arrays, wherein a distance between each transmitter in the first array and an adjacent transmitter in the first array is defined by a first value, and wherein a distance between each receiver in the second array and an adjacent receiver in the second array is defined by a second value, wherein the first and second values are co-prime numbers, wherein each of the M transmitters in the first array and each of the N receivers in the second array is a transceiver photonic chip.

Assignees

• California Inst Of Techn

Inventors

• Khachaturian Aroutin
• Hajimiri Seyed Ali
• Abiri Behrooz
• Fatemi Seyed Mohammadreza

Classifications

• H01Q3/2676 Primary

  Optically controlled phased array · CPC title

• H01Q21/22

  Antenna units of the array energised non-uniformly in amplitude or phase, e.g. tapered array or binomial array · CPC title

• H01Q21/061

  Two dimensional planar arrays · CPC title

• H01Q21/0087

  Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing antenna arrays (manufacturing waveguides H01P11/00) · CPC title

• H01Q21/065

  Patch antenna array · CPC title