Free-space optical communication system with optical phased array telescope

Abstract

Improved systems and methods for optical communications with reduced size, weight, and power consumption are provided. The systems and methods may be utilized between satellites or other distant systems with large relative motion. Such embodiments include utilizing diamagnetically levitated magnetic or other actuators to control the orientation of an optical phased array (OPA) to point the array toward a distant target system. The OPA has reduced size and mass compared to conventional telescopes, reducing the size, weight, and cost of the OPA and associated actuators while providing a comparable beam aperture. The actuators allow the OPA to omit phase shifter elements or include fewer phase shifter elements than previous steerable OPA telescopes, reducing complexity, cost, and power requirements.

Description

Cross - reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims priority based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 301,435, filed on January 20, 2022, the content of which is incorporated by reference.

[0002] Declaration on Federally Supported Research or Development This invention was made with government support under Contract No. N4175619C3028 awarded by the Navy Engineering Logistics Office. The government has certain rights in this invention.

Background Art

[0003] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims of this application and are not to be regarded as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.

[0004] For space applications, large - diameter laser beams are used for long - distance optical propagation by reducing losses due to beam diffraction spreading. Laser sources and detectors are often very small in diameter, so large telescopes are typically used to provide adjustment optics and space for beam size modification. Also, these large telescopes are equipped with pointing systems (often two - axis gimbals that rotate the entire assembly) to maintain links to other communication terminals. Thus, in addition to the large space occupied by the telescope and the weight of the optics and mount, the steering mechanism is even larger to move the entire assembly.

[0005] Current practice generally uses a telescope for beam size modification and gimbals to hold and point the entire assembly. To provide space for expanding the beam, the telescope has a large volume of "empty space" inside the assembly, so it is large in size.

[0006] Regarding steering mechanisms, gimbals are high TRL (Technical Maturity Level) systems that provide a very wide field of view beyond the hemisphere and can reposition the beam fast enough for most applications. Unfortunately, the systems are also large and have components that are not suitable for integration into CubeSat-type platforms. Furthermore, their pointing is coarse, so they often require auxiliary pointing mechanisms (such as high-speed steering mirrors). Other steering mechanisms generally achieve smaller size and weight at the expense of steering performance. [Overview of the project]

[0007] In a first embodiment, a system is provided which includes (i) an optical phased array comprising a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, the at least two emitter diffraction gratings configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than a second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings being static, and (ii) a steering actuator mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array.

[0008] In a second embodiment, a method is provided which (i) operates a steering actuator to orient an optical phased array toward a target, the steering actuator being mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array, (ii) operates a plurality of phase shifters of the optical phased array to control the direction of the output light beam of the optical phased array toward a first direction relative to the optical phased array during a first period, and (iii) optically transmits first information to a target during a first period, which involves (a) operating an optical emitter to generate a beam of light encoding the first information, ( b) the optical phased array receives a beam of light generated by an optical emitter as an input optical beam while the optical phased array is directed toward a target; (iv) during a second period, a plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the output optical beam toward a second direction relative to the optical phased array, the second direction being different from the first direction; and (v) during a second period, optically receives second information from the target, the optical receiving of second information from the target during a second period includes operating a photodetector optically coupled to the optical phased array to detect second information optically transmitted from the target and received through the optical phased array.

[0009] In a third embodiment, a product is provided which includes a computer-readable medium that, when executed by a computer device, causes the computer device to perform an action to affect the method of the second embodiment.

[0010] In a fourth embodiment, a system is provided which (i) is configured to receive an input optical beam and emit an output optical beam, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than a second aperture of the output optical beam, and (ii) is coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array, the steering actuator comprising a magnetic bearing, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows a comparison between a reflecting telescope using a large mirror and an example embodiment of an OPA (Optical Phased Array)-equipped telescope described herein.

[0012] [Figure 2] A figure illustrating an example of an embodiment of the optical phased array element of an OPA-equipped telescope described herein.

[0013] [Figure 3] A figure illustrating an example of an embodiment of the optical phased array element of the OPA telescope described herein.

[0014] [Figure 4] A figure showing the angular intensity profile of a beam emitted from the telescope example described herein.

[0015] [Figure 5A] A figure showing various phase delays simulated across the emitters of the telescope examples described herein.

[0016] [Figure 5B] Figure 5A shows the angular intensity profiles of beams emitted from an ideal telescope example described herein, and from a telescope example with various phase delays across the emitter.

[0017] [Figure 6A] A diagram showing an example arrangement of optical phased array elements for forming a compound telescope.

[0018] [Figure 6B] A diagram showing an example arrangement of optical phased array elements for forming a compound telescope.

[0019] [Figure 6C] A diagram showing an example arrangement of optical phased array elements for forming a compound telescope.

[0020] [Figure 7] A diagram showing the angular intensity profile of a beam radiated from an example telescope described herein.

[0021] [Figure 8] A diagram showing the angular intensity profile of a beam radiated from an example telescope described herein as compared with another angular intensity profile.

[0022] [Figure 9] A diagram showing the aspect of an example actuator that is diamagnetically levitated and magnetically controlled.

[0023] [Figure 10] A diagram showing an example telescope and an actuator that is diamagnetically levitated and magnetically controlled.

[0024] <00001​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification. In the drawings, similar reference numerals typically identify similar components unless otherwise specifically indicated in the context. The detailed description, drawings, and examples of embodiments described in the claims are not intended to be limiting. Other embodiments may be used and other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the subject matter presented herein. The aspects of the disclosure described herein and shown in the drawings may be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide range of different configurations, all of which are explicitly intended herein.

[0027] I. Overview High-bandwidth communication between distant systems moving relative to one another is desirable in a variety of applications. For example, to provide communication between satellites in a satellite constellation configured to provide wireless data services (e.g., internet access) to systems on Earth, large amounts of communication traffic can be transmitted through satellites in space to relatively few systems on the Earth's surface. Such high-bandwidth communication is favorably provided by line-of-sight optical links. However, these optical links typically require steering of the light beam transmitted to other systems to account for the relative motion and rotation (e.g., of satellites in orbit). Furthermore, at long distances (e.g., between satellites in orbit), diffraction and diffusion of such light beams can become a significant factor, leading to the use of steerable large-aperture (e.g., several centimeters or more) telescopes or other optical systems to adapt the small aperture of the onboard optical emitter / detector to a large-aperture beam that can account for diffraction and diffusion at such distances. Steering such a large-aperture beam can be achieved by pointing the telescope or other optical system used to generate the beam (e.g., a aiming mirror mounted on a galvanometer), steering all or part of such optical system, and / or steering the entire body of the satellite or other platform.

[0028] As described above, conventional telescopes that rely on separate reflecting / elements / refracting elements separated by a large open-space volume (through which light energy received by / transmitted from the telescope passes) exhibit large volume, large mass, and large rotational inertia. As a result, they may require more expensive, heavier, and costly steering mechanisms (e.g., higher-rated servo motors), and / or the use of such conventional telescopes may become unsuitable for applications with volume, mass, cost, temperature, and / or power constraints (e.g., applications involving small volume, mass, cost, power budgets, and thermal budgets, such as CubeSats or other small satellite systems). This specification describes an optically phased array (OPA)-equipped system that can convert a light beam from a small optical fiber input into a beam with a diameter of several centimeters using a substantially flat structure. By replacing conventional telescopes with such lightweight and substantially flat optical systems, the 2D form factor of the OPA offers significant size, weight, and power reductions compared to conventional telescopes, with respect to the corresponding steering system typically used to orient such optical systems (e.g., according to the speed and accuracy requirements of free-space optical communication terminals). Figure 1 compares a conventional telescope (left) with empty space for beam propagation and several mirrors and mounts with a structure (right) integrated with an example of the OPA embodiment described herein. Such an OPA-mounted system is more compact and lightweight, leading to direct savings in mass, rotational inertia, and volume, and may also result in indirect reductions in the weight, volume, power requirements, and cost of the associated steering mechanism.

[0029] In other optical phased array beamforming systems, the phased array comprises multiple emitters (e.g., optical diffraction gratings) for emitting a portion of the beam, and the phase of the light emitted from each emitter is controlled by a respective phase-shifting element (e.g., a portion of the waveguide that can be heated to control the relative phase delay induced by the waveguide). The phase delay for each emitter is then controlled in a specific pattern to control the overall direction or other characteristics of the composite beam emitted from such a solid-state steerable phased array (a combination of light emitted from each emitter with their respective different controlled phase delays relative to a common optical input to the phased array). This leads to high-speed, non-mechanical beam steering capabilities.

[0030] However, conventional approaches to generating large-aperture (e.g., apertures exceeding 1 centimeter in diameter) optical beams from such phased arrays employ a very large number of very small individual emitters while also achieving a wide field of view with respect to beam steering. This results in a highly complex device, comprising many (e.g., thousands or millions) phase shifters, each of which is powered and controlled to generate the beam. Furthermore, the steerable beam emitted from such a phased array may be inefficient due to the emission of optical energy in significant side lobes (which may be related to the spacing between the individual emitters of the phased array). The efficiency of such a phased array is further reduced by the power used to operate the array's phase shifters (e.g., heaters for controlling the temperature-dependent phase delay of its waveguides).

[0031] Embodiments described herein offer improvements over conventional steerable phased arrays by using one or more “static” sub-OPAs (or “optical expanding elements”) where the relative phase matching between different optical emitters is not controlled. Each optical expanding element comprises multiple emitters (e.g., emitter diffraction gratings) supplied from a single input waveguide via a set of mode expanders (e.g., tapers) and optical splitters, such that the phase matching between the light output from (or input to) each emitter is not independently controllable with respect to the phase matching of the corresponding light input to (or output from) the input waveguide, and does not change significantly over time between the emitters. Consequently, the beam direction, aperture, and other optical properties of the light emitted from (or received through) such optical expanding elements are uncontrollable and set at the time of manufacture. By eliminating the steering function from individual optical expanding elements, their design and manufacture are also simplified. This allows for the use of OPAs as described herein for the near future integration into platforms with size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints (such as CubeSats, aircraft, or portable devices). Alternatively, steering functionality may be provided by mechanical actuators, as described above. The relative reduction in size, weight, and complexity of such non-steerable OPAs leads to reductions in size, weight, and cost compared to utilizing conventional telescopes that are steered to increase beam aperture.

[0032] The improved OPA described herein may consist of a single such optical expanding element. Alternatively, the OPA may be formed from a plurality of such optical expanding elements mounted together (e.g., on a common substrate steered by an actuator) and supplied by a single optical waveguide (e.g., coupled to an optical emitter and a photodetector to facilitate the use of such a composite OPA for optical communications). The characteristics of the composite beam emitted from such an OPA may be controlled by controlling the phase matching of each optical expanding element with respect to each other. This may be done, for example, by attaching a fixed phase plate to each optical expanding element at the time of manufacture so that the individual portions of light emitted from each optical expanding element are properly phase-matched to couple to a beam whose direction can be steered by mechanically rotating the OPA. Additionally or alternatively, to improve the characteristics of the emitted composite beam (e.g., to account for manufacturing variations in the optical expanding elements) and / or to provide some degree of non-mechanical (e.g., solid-state) beam steering, a phase shifter or other path length control mechanism may be provided one for each optical expanding element. By significantly reducing the number of such phase shifters (from thousands or millions per OPA to tens, one per optical expanding element in the OPA), such an OPA can be far more efficient than previous steerable phased arrays. Furthermore, the beam characteristics of the light emitted from each of these optical expanding elements are significantly improved compared to previous steerable phased arrays (for example, in terms of improved emitter spacing and size, or in terms of omitting a phase shifter corresponding to each emitter), with sidelobe emission being absent or significantly reduced. Consequently, the composite beam emitted as a combination of subbeams emitted from such an assembly of optical expanding elements is also improved in terms of spurious sidelobe emission, resulting in increased efficiency.

[0033] By eliminating or significantly reducing the steering function in OPAs currently under development, beam quality and beam generation efficiency are improved while design and manufacturing are greatly simplified. Instead of the thousands or millions of very fast phase control mechanisms required for steerable OPAs, the disclosed embodiments significantly reduce that number. For example, the number of phase shifters can be reduced to tens of phase control mechanisms (equal to the number of optical expanding elements used to form the OPA) to compensate for manufacturing errors. Furthermore, such phase shifters can operate with very little or perhaps no control feedback when set toward precise path length correction used to generate a beam with desired characteristics. Alternatively, as described above, the phase shifters can be controlled to slightly adjust beam steering, for example, to allow slightly different transmit and receive beam directions through the same OPA without mechanically steering the OPA between transmit and receive. This can be beneficial when communicating with distant satellites (or other target communication systems) by allowing the OPA to transmit in a "forward" direction to compensate for the rate of optical delay when transmitting to distant satellites.

[0034] In the embodiments of the OPA disclosed herein, the OPA can change the beam aperture of a transmitted signal (e.g., from a laser or other light source) from a few micrometers in diameter (e.g., a 5-micron diameter beam of 850 nm light emitted from a single-mode fiber, or a 10-micron diameter beam of 1550 nm light emitted from a single-mode fiber) to a few centimeters in diameter (e.g., 2.5 centimeters, 5 centimeters) (or vice versa for received light) in a substantially flat, low-weight structure. This leads to a significant reduction in the size and weight of the beam expansion system, from a ~10 cm path in a conventional telescope for a 3 cm aperture to less than 1 millimeter thick for the OPA. Furthermore, the method by which the OPA described herein shapes the output beam results in a “top-hat” beam shape that exhibits less divergence than the Gaussian beam shape of a conventional telescope. Furthermore, because it does not include, for example, a large conventional telescope system or interface with it, and because the mass and / or rotational inertia of the OPA is much smaller than that of a conventional telescope, the mechanical actuators used to steer the beam (by controlling the orientation of the OPA) can also be dramatically reduced in size, mass, and power.

[0035] The optical expanding elements described herein may form all or part of an OPA composed of one or more such elements, and may be configured in various ways such that at least two emitters of the optical expanding element (e.g., emitter diffraction gratings) receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam to the optical expanding element and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of an OPA comprising the optical expanding element. This may include at least two emitters receiving corresponding portions of the input optical beam via a beam splitter of the optical expanding element. Thus, the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitters of the optical expanding element is static and uncontrollable (however, the relative phase between the input optical beam and the emitters may be controllable by a single phase shifter of the optical expanding element that operates to add a tunable phase delay common to all emitters of the optical expanding element). Such a beam splitter may be configured to split a single input optical beam across multiple emitters of the element (e.g., received by a waveguide of the element also having a controllable phase shifter). For example, a beam splitter may include multiple bidirectional beam splitters arranged as a binary tree to divide the input optical beam into 256 segments across 256 emitters of an optical expansion element.

[0036] Each emitter may be a long emitter diffraction grating configured to receive input light and emit the input light along the length of the diffraction grating pattern that forms corresponding portions of the beam of light emitted from the element. Figure 2 shows a top and side view of such an emitter diffraction grating for an optical expanding element. As shown in the figure, an input waveguide from a beam splitter to an emitter (e.g., a “single-mode waveguide”) is optically coupled to an emitter diffraction grating (“diffraction grating”) via an optical mode expander (e.g., a “taper” shown in Figure 2). The emitter comprises multiple diffraction gratings formed in the waveguide such that each emitter emits corresponding portions of light in the waveguide. The shape (width, thickness), optical properties (e.g., refractive index), and number of the diffraction gratings, as well as the shape (width, thickness, length) and optical properties (e.g., refractive index) of the emitter waveguide, may be defined such that the light emitted from each diffraction grating constructively interferes to form a beam of light emitted from the emitter. Multiple such emitters (and associated mode expanders (e.g., tapers), waveguides, beam splitters, etc.) can be formed parallel to each other across a single optical expanding element to provide an optical expanding element that emits a composite optical beam formed from corresponding portions of light emitted from each of the element's emitters.

[0037] Note that examples of an OPA or optical expanding device that receives light from an input beam having a first aperture (e.g., from an input single-mode waveguide coupled to a laser or other optical emitter) and emits the received input beam as an output composite beam having a wider second aperture are frequently described throughout this disclosure. It is important to note that the direction of this light propagation (input of a small-aperture beam to the OPA, emission of a wide-aperture beam from the OPA) is intended as a non-limiting example of the optical properties of such an OPA and associated device. Such an OPA and associated device can also operate in reverse to receive light from the environment via the OPA (e.g., from a wide-aperture beam transmitted to the OPA from a remote system) and direct such received light to the "input" of the OPA (e.g., as a much smaller-aperture beam that can be directed to a silicon avalanche photodiode or other photodetector).

[0038] Detailed element embodiments of optical expanding elements having multiple such emitter diffraction gratings (which may form all or part of the OPA described herein) are shown in Figure 3. An optical signal is coupled into / out of the element from an external light source / photodetector (e.g., directly from a modulated laser diode via an optical fiber). An external beam splitter tree (not shown) may distribute the signal to the inputs of each element of the multi-element OPA. The single optical expanding element shown in the figure comprises a single phase shifter (e.g., a thermal phase shifter) following the beam splitter tree and a set of mode expanders (e.g., tapers) for expanding the beam width from the beam width in the beam splitter to the width of the emitter diffraction grating. A vertical diffraction grating coupler then outputs a two-dimensional beam with substantially uniform amplitude and phase. The element size may be expanded along the length of the emitter diffraction grating so that the phase of the emitted light is stable along the length of the emitter, and as a result the emitted beam remains substantially uniform. The feasible length of such an emitter may be increased by improving manufacturing tolerances. For example, using the manufacturing tolerances used to form a practical device for experimental verification, we were able to create an emitter diffraction grating with a length of approximately 5 millimeters.

[0039] It should be noted that integrating a phase shifter onto an optical magnifying element is intended as a non-limiting embodiment, and such a phase shifter can also be formed separately from the optical magnifying element.

[0040] If the OPA is formed from multiple such optical expanding elements, thermal (or otherwise configured) phase shifters can be controlled so that their outputs are coherently coupled. This may involve adjusting the phase delay of each optical expanding element to compensate for differences in manufacturing length between the elements. For example, a 5cm array may be produced by about 80 optical expanding elements, each having dimensions of about 5mm x 5mm, which can be manufactured cost-effectively while maintaining acceptable beam uniformity. Such a relatively small number of phase shifters (corresponding to the number of optical expanding elements) can be easily managed in a slow control loop to account for any temperature drift.

[0041] Figure 4 shows the angle dependence of the beam intensity when emitted from such an optical emitter element. An example of an optical emitter element used to produce this result is configured as shown in Figure 3, comprising 256 emitter diffraction gratings, each having a width of 18.5 microns and a length of 4.85 millimeters, spaced apart at a center-to-center distance of 19.5 microns, and emitting 1550 nanometer light. As shown in the figure, the main beam emitted from such an optical expanding element contains more than 97.14% of the element's total optical output.

[0042] The number, length, and width of the emitter diffraction gratings can be selected to enhance the overall efficiency and optical output of individual optical expanding elements. For example, fewer and wider emitters utilize less element area for the beam splitter but employ longer mode expanders to match the modes of the waveguide from the beam splitter to the emitter width. Conversely, narrower emitters utilize shorter mode expanders but allow for a larger element area dedicated to the beam splitter. In practice, optical expanding elements with similar dimensions to those described above can allocate more than 97% of the optical expanding element area to the emitter diffraction grating (less than 3% of the optical expanding element area is used for the mode expander and beam splitter). Other configurations can maintain a ratio of more than 19:1 between the element area occupied by the emitter diffraction grating and the element area occupied by the mode expander and beam splitter.

[0043] In practice, the relative phase between light received by the emitter diffraction grating of an optical magnifying element varies across the element. These phase differences from the ideal (i.e., a constant, uniform phase across all emitters) can lead to a degradation in the quality of the beam emitted from the element. The degree of this degradation was simulated for a 256-emitter element with 18.5-micron wide emitters and a 5-millimeter fabricated coherence length. Figure 5A shows the simulated phase of each emitter relative to the input beam phase (0 degrees) simulated using a random walk. Figure 5B shows the angular dependence of the beam intensity emitted from such an optical emitter element (showing phase variation across emitters as shown in Figure 5A). As shown in the figure, this imperfect beam profile ("with phase variation") deviates only slightly from the ideal beam profile ("ideal") emitted from a hypothetical optical magnifying element that shows no phase variation between emitters.

[0044] The improved OPAs described herein may be formed from a single or a plurality of such optical expanding elements. An OPA may be formed from an array of a plurality of optical expanding elements to provide a wider aperture beam formed from the combined output of the plurality of elements. The plurality of elements in such a composite OPA may be supplied from the same input beam or waveguide (e.g., coupled to an optical emitter and / or photodetector used to achieve long-distance optical communication over the OPA) via one or more beam splitters. The phase of the common input (or output) light for each of the individual optical expanding elements may be controlled by a respective phase shifter (e.g., a phase shifter formed on each of the expanding elements) to improve the quality of the composite beam emitted from the OPA (e.g., to account for manufacturing variations between elements, to account for non-uniform heating across the OPA), to achieve some degree of non-mechanical steering of the composite beam (e.g., to change between the "transmit direction" when a distant satellite receives the transmitted beam and the "receive direction" when the distant satellite transmitted the beam), or to provide some other advantage. In such an example, a mechanical actuator that adjusts the mechanical orientation of the entire array may be operated to make coarse adjustments to the direction of the beams emitted therefrom over a wide range of angles, while the operation of a phase shifter to adjust the relative phase of the light emitted from each of the optical magnifying elements may be used to make fine adjustments to the direction of the beams over a relatively narrow range of angles (e.g., over a range of less than 1 degree). Additionally or alternatively, fixed phase plates or other materials may be placed on the optical magnifying elements to account for manufacturing differences or to adjust the characteristics of the composite beams emitted therefrom in other ways.

[0045] The optical magnifying elements of such a composite OPA may be arranged in various ways to provide a composite beam with a larger aperture. Multiple optical magnifying elements of such an OPA may be mechanically attached to a substrate (e.g., a substrate coupled to a two-axis actuator configured to steer the OPA) using adhesive or by some other means. The pattern and number of optical magnifying elements in such a composite array can be defined in various ways. For example, Figure 6A shows an OPA formed from 19 optical magnifying elements that provides a composite beam with an aperture of 2.5 centimeters. In another example, Figure 6B shows an OPA formed from 80 optical magnifying elements that provides a composite beam with an aperture of 5 centimeters. In yet another example, Figure 6C shows an OPA formed from 82 optical magnifying elements that provides a composite beam with an aperture of 5 centimeters.

[0046] Since each element is associated with its own resistively heated phase shifter (e.g., formed on each element), the total power consumption of the OPA is significantly reduced compared to a fully steerable phased array (i.e., an array in which each emitter diffraction grating or other optical emitter element is coupled to its corresponding phase shifter), because the total number of such phase shifters is drastically reduced from the thousands or millions used in a phase shifter array per emitter. For example, if each phase shifter utilizes 10 mW of power, the OPA in Figure 6A utilizes only 190 mW, the OPA in Figure 6B utilizes only 800 mW, and the OPA in Figure 6C utilizes only 820 mW.

[0047] The OPAs formed from multiple optical expanding elements described herein offer various advantages in terms of beam quality compared to phased arrays with phase shifters per emitter (reduced sidelobe mission compared to such phased arrays) and to conventional telescopes. Figure 7 shows the angle dependence of beam intensity when emitted from the 82 optical expanding element OPA shown in Figure 6C. Figure 8 shows the angle dependence of beam intensity when emitted from the 82 optical emitter element OPA ("5cm phased array") shown in Figure 6C, providing for comparison the theoretical diffraction-limited ideal beam profile ("Airy disk") emitted from a 5cm aperture and the beam profile emitted from a conventional telescope with a 5cm aperture that emits an optical 4.45cm Gaussian beam profile through that aperture ("4.45cm diameter Gaussian through a 5cm aperture"). As shown in the figures, the multi-element composite OPA performs significantly better than conventional telescopes and is close to theoretical diffraction-limited performance.

[0048] Furthermore, the reduction in size, weight, and rotational inertia of such an OPA provides indirect benefits by relaxing the constraints (e.g., constraints on torque, speed, and precision) on the actuators used to steer such an OPA compared to conventional telescope steering, in order to achieve the same speed and precision of steering. This leads to a reduction in the size, weight, cost, complexity, and power requirements of such steering.

[0049] The steering actuators used for steering the OPA described herein can be configured in various ways. In some examples, the actuator may include two or more servos, motors, or other actuators mechanically coupled to the OPA for steering the OPA. In some examples, the actuator may include a magnetic bearing and multiple coils. The magnetic bearing can form a low-friction (or frictionless) magnetic bearing between the rotor of the actuator (to which the OPA is coupled) and the stator of the actuator (to which the rest of the satellite or other system including the actuator and the OPA is coupled), by comprising multiple magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the multiple magnets. Coils then positioned in the actuator opposite the magnets (for example, stator coils, with permanent magnets in the rotor and diamagnetic material in the stator) are driven by an electric current to apply a force to the magnets, thereby adjusting the orientation of the optical phased array attached to the actuator.

[0050] Figure 9 illustrates an example of such a diamagnetically levitated actuator. The actuator comprises a plurality of permanent magnets ("magnet array") arranged along a hemisphere and positioned in hemispherical recesses in a diamagnetic material ("diamagnetic material," e.g., pyrolytic carbon), such that the actuator rotor (equipped with permanent magnets) is magnetically repelled from the diamagnetic material, providing a magnetic bearing between them. In the example shown in Figure 9, the actuator is coupled to a single mirror, and the actuator may be operated to control the orientation of the mirror. This may be done, for example, to control the deflection direction of a beam of light, as shown in the right portion of Figure 9. Such an actuator may, instead, be coupled to an OPA described herein to allow the actuator to be operated to control the orientation of an OPA, and thus to control the orientation of a beam of light radiated from / received therefrom.

[0051] Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system comprising an OPA ("Optical Phased Array") as described herein, coupled to a diamagnetically levitated actuator, which is formed from multiple optical expanding elements. In particular, the OPA is mounted on a hemispherical rotor of the actuator, the rotor comprising multiple permanent magnets. The hemispherical rotor is positioned in a hemispherical recess of the actuator's stator, which is formed from a diamagnetic material, thereby providing a magnetically supported separation of approximately 500 microns between the rotor and the stator. Multiple coils are positioned within the stator through which current can be passed to control the orientation of the OPA by applying a magnetic force to the permanent magnets in the rotor (e.g., within or behind the diamagnetic material, but not shown).

[0052] In the actuator embodiment shown in Figure 10, the total weight of the actuator (including the carbon fiber diamagnetic head, magnet, encoder, peripheral electronics, fixture, circuit board, drive coil, coil driver, and microcontroller) is only 97 grams. This actuator and associated controller are configured to operate in a "high-speed" mode to initiate a link (for example, to quickly orient from one target to another) and in a "low-speed" mode to maintain the link with lower power consumption. The system can operate at less than 231 mW in high-speed mode and less than 82 mW in low-speed mode.

[0053] Furthermore, the actuator in Figure 10 shows several magnetic clamps ("magnetic clamps") that can be operated to mechanically secure the rotor. This may be done, for example, during transport (e.g., during the launch of a satellite including the OPA and actuators) or during any other period when there is an advantage to mechanically securing the rotor and OPA (e.g., when the OPA is not in use, to orient the rotor and / or to conserve power in the coils used to keep the rotor in the hemispherical recess of the stator), in order to prevent damage to or displacement of the rotor (e.g., out of the hemispherical recess of the stator). Such magnetic clamps may be operable multiple times (e.g., by being driveable between a "locked" and "unlocked" state by a motor or other actuator), or they may be operable only once to conserve weight, cost, or other factors (e.g., to secure the rotor only before being operated to release the rotor by applying heat or a magnetic field to detach the clamp from the rotor and / or to weaken or remove the magnetic field of the clamp).

[0054] The OPA is electrically and optically coupled to the rest of the communication system (e.g., to a laser or other optical emitter, to a photodetector, to control electronics for operating the phase shifter of the OPA's optical magnifying element) via electrical cables ("control electronics connectors") and optical fibers ("optical fiber connections"). However, this is intended merely as an example of a non-limiting embodiment. For example, the optical fibers can be omitted by placing the optical emitter and / or photodetector within the rotor (e.g., powering and controlling those elements using electrical cables). In another example, the electrical cables can be omitted if the OPA lacks an electronic phase shifter or other electronic elements. Electrical cables may be used to control the phase shifter of the OPA and / or to provide other functions (for example, to operate an optical emitter and / or detector optically coupled to the OPA, to drive the coils of an actuator in an example where the coils are located on the rotor and the permanent magnets are located on the stator of the actuator, to operate a magnetic field sensor and / or encoder used to determine the orientation of the OPA and / or the field generated by the coils, or to provide any other function).

[0055] Further descriptions of the disclosed approach are included in the Annex, which is part of this Application and is incorporated in its entirety by reference as if it were fully described herein. The Annex includes a presentation titled “Passive Optical Phased Array.” Furthermore, references made herein and in the accompanying documents are also part of this Application and are incorporated in their entirety by reference as if they were fully described herein.

[0056] II. System Examples Figure 11 shows an example system 1100 that may be used to carry out the methods described herein, and / or may be or include all or part of one or more systems described herein. For example, non-limitingly, system 1100 may be all or part of a satellite or part of a satellite (e.g., a satellite communications subsystem), a CubeSat or part of a CubeSat or other microsatellite system, an autonomous vehicle or part of an autonomous vehicle, or any other system, in order to provide high-aperture, high-performance in-line-of-sight optical communication between two or more systems whose relative positions and / or orientations may change over time. It should be understood that system 1100 may represent a physical device, such as a satellite, a specific physical hardware subsystem that may be part of a larger system (e.g., by being coupled to a host system mechanically, electrically, thermally, and / or otherwise), or any other combination of hardware and software configured to perform a function and / or incorporate the elements described herein.

[0057] As shown in Figure 11, the system 1100 may comprise a communication interface 1102, a processor 1103, an optical phased array (OPA) 1108, an actuator 1104 configured to mechanically adjust the orientation of the OPA 1108, an optical emitter 1105 coupled to the OPA 1108 and configured to emit a beam of light from the OPA 1108 (for example, toward a distant satellite in space) by supplying light to the OPA 1108, a photodetector 1106 coupled to the OPA 1108 and configured to receive a beam of light from the environment of the OPA 1108 (for example, toward a distant satellite in space) by receiving light from the OPA 1108, one or more phase shifters 1107 which may be formed as part of the OPA 1108 or independent thereof, and data storage 1109, all of which may be linked to communicate with each other by a system bus, network, or other connection mechanism 1110. An optical phased array may comprise one or more sets of two or more emitter diffraction gratings or other static optical emitter elements, such as the static OPA described herein, which are supplied from a common optical feed and have a static, uncontrolled relative phase relationship with respect to the phase of light received through the common optical feed.

[0058] The communication interface 1102 may function to enable the system 1100 to communicate with other devices, access networks, and / or transport networks via means other than the OPA 1108, using analog or digital modulation of electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic, optical, or other signals. Thus, the communication interface 1102 may facilitate circuit-switched communications and / or packet-switched communications, such as Internet Protocol (IP) or other packetized communications. For example, the communication interface 1102 may include a chipset and antennas arranged for wireless communication with a radio access network or access point. Furthermore, the communication interface 1102 may take the form of a wired interface (such as Ethernet, Universal Serial Bus (USB), or High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) port) or be equipped with a wired interface for communicating with other systems (for example, the master controller or system bus of a satellite in which system 1100 forms a long-range optical communication subsystem). The communication interface 1102 may also take the form of a wireless interface (such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, Global Positioning System (GPS), or wide-area wireless interface (e.g., WiMAX or 3GPP® Long-Term Evolution (LTE))) or be equipped with a wireless interface. However, other forms of physical layer interfaces and other types of standard or proprietary communication protocols may be used with the communication interface 1102. Furthermore, the communication interface 1102 may be equipped with multiple physical communication interfaces (e.g., a Wi-Fi interface, a Bluetooth® interface, and a wide-area wireless interface).

[0059] In some embodiments, the communication interface 1102 may function to enable the system 1100 to communicate with other devices, remote servers, access networks, and / or transport networks. In some examples, an embodiment of the communication interface 1102 (e.g., an encoder, decoder, multiplexer, timer or oscillator, protocol management controller, or state machine) may be used in conjunction with the actuator 1104, optical emitter 1105, photodetector 1106, and / or phase shifter 1107 to perform long-distance optical communication with one or more remote systems (e.g., one or more other satellites) via the OPA 1108. Additionally or alternatively, some or all of such functions may be implemented by the processor 1103.

[0060] The processor 1103 may include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors) and / or one or more dedicated processors (e.g., digital signal processors (DSPs), graphics processing units (GPUs), floating-point units (FPUs), network processors, tensor processing units (TPUs), or application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs)). The data storage 1109 may include one or more volatile and / or non-volatile storage components (e.g., magnetic, optical, flash, or organic storage) and may be integrated whole or partially with the processor 1103. The data storage 1109 may include removable and / or non-removable components.

[0061] The processor 1103 may execute program instructions 1118 (e.g., compiled or uncompiled program logic and / or machine code) stored in the data storage 1109 to perform various functions described herein. Therefore, the data storage 1109 may include a non-temporary computer-readable medium containing program instructions that, when executed by the system 1100, cause the system 1100 to perform any of the methods, processes, or functions disclosed herein and / or in the accompanying drawings. The execution of program instructions 1118 by the processor 1103 may lead to the processor 1103 utilizing data 1112.

[0062] For example, program instruction 1118 may include an operating system 1122 installed on system 1100 (e.g., an operating system kernel, device drivers, and / or other modules), as well as one or more application programs 1120 (e.g., functions for performing data acquisition, data routing and / or transmission, communication with Earth stations, or other mission-purpose activities, functions for determining the position and / or orientation of system 1100 in space, determining the relative position and / or orientation of another satellite system in space, and functions for operating to communicate optically with another satellite system via OPA 1108). Data 1112 may include calibration data (e.g., information on the phase dependence of the orientation or other characteristics of subbeams emitted from individual static OPA sub-elements of a composite OPA 1108 formed from multiple static OPA sub-elements) 1114, as well as / or temporary data 1116 regarding the time-dependent position and orientation of system 1100 and / or other systems (e.g., other satellites) with which system 1100 may communicate.

[0063] The application program 1120 may communicate with the operating system 1122 through one or more application programming interfaces (APIs). These APIs can facilitate, for example, the application program 1120 sending or receiving information via the communication interface 1102, and receiving and / or sending data via the OPA 1108.

[0064] The actuator 1104 may include, for example, a servo, a motor, a plurality of magnetic coils and corresponding permanent magnets on a rotor (for example, a rotor that provides low-friction or frictionless magnetic bearings by diamagnetically levitating from a stator containing coils), or some other means for adjusting the orientation of the OPA 1108 relative to the system 1100, in order to direct a beam of light emitted from / detected through the OPA 1108 towards another system (e.g., a satellite) with which the system 1100 can optically communicate.

[0065] The optical emitter 1105 may include one or more lasers, light-emitting diodes, or other light-emitting elements whose intensity time-varying patterns can be controlled for optical communication with one or more remote systems via the OPA 1108. To match the optical emitter 1105 to the OPA 1108 (e.g., to match the input waveguide, phase shifter, beam splitter, mode expander, and / or the mode, aperture, wavelength, or other characteristics of the emitter diffraction grating of the OPA 1108), the wavelength and / or aperture of the optical emitter 1105 may be defined relative to the OPA 1108. For example, the optical emitter 1105 may comprise a 1550 nanometer fiber optic amplifier or an 850 nanometer semiconductor optical amplifier.

[0066] The photodetector 1106 can facilitate optical communication by comprising one or more avalanche photodetectors, photodiodes, avalanche photodiodes, single-photon detectors, or other photodetectors that can operate to detect time-varying patterns of light intensity received from one or more remote systems via the OPA 1108. To match the photodetector 1106 to the OPA 1108 (for example, to match the modes, aperture, wavelength, or other characteristics of the OPA 1108's input waveguide, phase shifter, beam splitter, mode expander, and / or emitter diffraction grating), the wavelength and / or shape of the photodetector 1106 may be defined relative to the OPA 1108. For example, the photodetector 1106 may comprise one or more silicon avalanche photodiodes.

[0067] The phase shifter 1107 may include various elements configured to adjust the phase of light emitted from / received by the sub-elements of the OPA 1108 (for example, light emitted from / received from individual optical emitter elements having multiple emitter diffraction gratings and a single optical input / output having a static optical phase relationship with each of the emitter diffraction gratings) with respect to the phase of light received / emitted by the optical input / output ports of the sub-elements. For example, the phase shifter 1107 may include a thermal phase shifter configured to adjust the amount of phase delay added by the waveguide to light passing through the waveguide by electrically applying a controlled amount of heating to the waveguide. The phase shifter 1107 may be integrated into a sub-element of the OPA1108 (e.g., a single phase shifter formed as a waveguide and associated heater element and conductor of silicon or other material, on which an emitter diffraction grating, mode expander, beam splitter, or other components of the sub-element are also formed), or it may be separate from the sub-element (e.g., a separate optical phase shifter coupled to the sub-element in one direction and to the optical emitter 1105 and / or photodetector 1106 via a beam splitter in the opposite direction). In some examples, multiple phase shifters corresponding to different waveguides may be associated with each sub-element of the OPA1108. This can be done, for example, in combination with a wavelength-selective filter or other element to allow the direction of the beam of light from the OPA1108 at a first wavelength (e.g., the transmit wavelength) to be slightly different from the direction of the beam of light from the OPA1108 at a second wavelength (e.g., the receive wavelength). This enables full-duplex communication with a satellite that is far enough from system 1100 that the time-of-flight delay between system 110 and the satellite means that the received optical transmission was received from a different direction than the transmitted optical transmission was sent from (for example, to account for relative motion and light-speed delay, the optical transmission "leads" the target's current relative position, and the received optical signal is received from the target's past relative position).

[0068] The optical phased array 1108, the optical emitter 1105, the photodetector 1106, the phase shifter 1107, and / or their elements (e.g., waveguides, mode expanders, tapers, beam splitters, emitters (e.g., diffraction grating emitters)) may be adapted to provide the communication or other optical beam transmission / reception functions described herein for one or more wavelengths. For example, these elements of system 1100 may be adapted to facilitate communication at one or more wavelengths between 380 and 2400 nm. In some examples, these elements of system 1100 may be adapted to facilitate communication at one or more wavelengths between 600 and 800 nm to provide more energy-efficient communication by utilizing more efficient optical emitters available in the wavelength range of 600 to 800 nm.

[0069] III. Method example Figure 12 is a flowchart of Method Example 1200. Method 1200 comprises the step (1210) of operating actuators to orient an optical phased array toward a target. Method 1200 further comprises the step (1220) of operating a plurality of phase shifters of the optical phased array to control the direction of the output light beam of the optical phased array toward a first direction relative to the optical phased array during a first period. Method 1200 further comprises the step of optically transmitting first information to a target during a first period, wherein the step of optically transmitting first information to a target during a first period includes (i) operating an optical emitter to generate a light beam encoding the first information, and (ii) receiving the light beam generated by the optical emitter as an input light beam by the optical phased array while the optical phased array is oriented toward the target. Method 1200 further comprises the step (1240) of operating a plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of the output light beam in a second direction relative to the optical phased array, wherein the second direction is different from the first direction. Method 1200 further comprises the step (1250) of optically receiving second information from a target during the second period, wherein the step of optically receiving second information from a target during the second period includes the step of operating a photodetector optically coupled to the optical phased array to detect second information optically transmitted from the target and received via the optical phased array. Method 1200 may include additional or alternative features.

[0070] IV. Enumerated Examples of Embodiments Accordingly, embodiments of this disclosure may relate to one of the following enumerated examples of embodiments (EEEs). It will be understood that features described in relation to one EEE can be combined with those of another EEE.

[0071] EEE1 is a system comprising (i) an optical phased array, the optical phased array comprising a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, the at least two emitter diffraction gratings configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than a second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings being static; and (ii) a steering actuator mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array.

[0072] EEE2 is a system of EEE1, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets.

[0073] EEE3 is a system of any of EEE1 to EEE2, wherein the optical phased array comprises a plurality of optical magnifying elements, including a first optical magnifying element, and each optical magnifying element of the plurality of optical magnifying elements receives a corresponding portion of the input optical beam and emits a corresponding portion of the combined output optical beam.

[0074] EEE4 is a system of EEE3, further comprising a fixed phase plate, which provides static phase adjustment to the light emitted from each of the multiple optical magnifying elements.

[0075] EEE5 is a system of any of EEE3 to EEE4, further comprising a plurality of phase shifters, each of which is operable to adjust the phase of light emitted from each corresponding optical expanding element among a plurality of optical expanding elements to the phase of an input optical beam, and a controller. The controller is configured to perform a controller operation, which includes operating the plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of a composite output optical beam relative to an optical phased array.

[0076] EEE6 is a system of EEE5, further comprising: an optical emitter configured to generate an input light beam received by an optical phased array; and a photodetector optically coupled to the optical phased array to receive light received by the optical phased array from the direction of a composite output light beam via a plurality of optical expanding elements. The controller operation further includes operating a steering actuator to orient the optical phased array toward a target; operating a plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of the composite output light beam in a first direction relative to the optical phased array during a first period; operating the optical emitter to generate a beam of light encoding first information, thereby optically transmitting the first information to the target during the first period; operating a plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of the composite output light beam in a second direction relative to the optical phased array during a second period, the second direction being different from the first direction, and operating the photodetector to detect second information optically transmitted from the target and received via the optical phased array during the second period.

[0077] EEE7 is one of the EEE1-6 systems, further comprising an optical emitter, which is coupled to an optical phased array via a flexible optical fiber.

[0078] EEE8 is a system of any of EEE1 to EEE7, wherein the input light beam contains light having a wavelength between 380 nanometers and 2400 nanometers.

[0079] EEE9 is a system of any of EEE1 to EEE8, wherein the first optical expanding element comprises a first region and a second region, each of at least two emitter diffraction gratings is associated with a tapered optical waveguide to which each emitter diffraction grating receives the corresponding portion of the input optical beam from a beam splitter, the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are located within the first region, and the tapered optical waveguide and beam splitter are located within the second region, and the ratio of the area of ​​the first region to the area of ​​the second region is greater than 19:1.

[0080] EEE10 is one of the EEE1-9 systems, where the second aperture of the composite output light beam is greater than 5 centimeters.

[0081] EEE11 is a system of any of EEE1 to 10, the system of claim 1, wherein the system is a satellite system, and the system further comprises an optical emitter configured to generate an input light beam to be received by an optical phased array, and a controller. The controller is configured to perform controller operations, which include operating a steering actuator to orient the optical phased array toward a target, and operating the optical emitter to generate a light beam encoding first information, thereby optically transmitting the first information to the target.

[0082] EEE12 is one of the EEE1 to 11 systems, further comprising a photodetector, the photodetector being optically coupled to the optical phased array so as to receive light received by the optical phased array from the direction of the output light beam via multiple optical magnifying elements, and the photodetector is an avalanche photodiode.

[0083] EEE13 is a method comprising: (i) operating a steering actuator to orient an optical phased array toward a target, wherein the steering actuator is mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array; (ii) operating a plurality of phase shifters of an optical phased array to control the direction of the output light beam of the optical phased array toward a first direction relative to the optical phased array during a first period; and (iii) optically transmitting first information to a target during a first period, wherein the optical transmission of first information to a target during a first period comprises (a) operating an optical emitter to generate a beam of light encoding the first information, and (b) The present invention provides a method for optically receiving a beam of light generated by an optical emitter as an input light beam through an optically phased array while the optically phased array is directed toward a target; (iv) during a second period, operating a plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of an output light beam in a second direction relative to the optically phased array, the second direction being different from the first direction; and (v) during a second period, optically receiving second information from a target, the step of optically receiving second information from a target during a second period, the step of operating a photodetector optically coupled to the optically phased array to detect second information optically transmitted from the target and received through the optically phased array.

[0084] EEE14 is a method of EEE13, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing and a plurality of coils, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets, and the step of operating the steering actuator to orient the optical phased array toward a target includes the step of adjusting the orientation of the optical phased array by controlling the current supplied to the plurality of coils to apply force to the plurality of magnets.

[0085] EEE15 is one of the methods EEE13-14, where the photodetector is an avalanche photodiode.

[0086] EEE16 is one of the methods of EEE13 to 15, wherein the output light beam has an aperture greater than 5 centimeters.

[0087] EEE17 is one of the methods of EEE13 to 16, wherein the optical phased array comprises a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, wherein the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam has a first aperture smaller than a second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is static.

[0088] EEE18 is one of the methods of EEE13 to 17, wherein the beam of light encoding the first information includes light having a wavelength between 380 nanometers and 2400 nanometers.

[0089] EEE19 is a product that includes a computer-readable medium, which stores program instructions that, when executed by a computer device, cause the computer device to perform an action that affects one of the methods described in EEE13-18.

[0090] EEE20 is a system comprising (i) an optical phased array configured to receive an input optical beam and emit an output optical beam, wherein the input optical beam has a first aperture smaller than the second aperture of the output optical beam; and (ii) a steering actuator coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets.

[0091] V-knot The specific arrangement shown in the figure should not be considered limiting. It should be understood that other embodiments may comprise more or fewer of the elements shown in the given figure. Furthermore, some of the illustrated elements may be combined or omitted. Moreover, one embodiment may comprise elements not shown.

[0092] Furthermore, while various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit, and the true scope and spirit are set forth by the following claims. Other embodiments may be used and other modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. The aspects of the disclosure described herein and shown in the figures may be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide range of different configurations, all of which are assumed herein. [Application Example 1] A system in which, An optical phased array comprising a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, wherein the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than the second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is static. A steering actuator is mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array. A system that includes these features. [Application Example 2] A system according to Application Example 1, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing, and the magnetic bearing comprises a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets. [Application Example 3] A system according to Application Example 1, wherein the optical phased array comprises a plurality of optical magnifying elements including the first optical magnifying element, and each of the plurality of optical magnifying elements receives a corresponding portion of the input optical beam and emits a corresponding portion of the composite output optical beam. [Application Example 4] A system according to Application Example 3, further comprising a fixed phase plate, wherein the fixed phase plate provides static phase adjustment to the light emitted from each of the plurality of optical magnifying elements. [Application Example 5] The system described in Application Example 3, further, Multiple phase shifters, each of which is operable to adjust the phase of light emitted from a corresponding optical magnifying element among the multiple optical magnifying elements with respect to the phase of the input optical beam, A controller configured to perform controller operations, wherein the controller operations are A system comprising operating the plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of the composite output light beam relative to the optical phased array. [Application Example 6] The system described in Application Example 5, further, An optical emitter configured to generate the input optical beam received by the optical phased array, A photodetector is optically coupled to the optical phased array so as to receive light received by the optical phased array from the direction of the composite output light beam via the plurality of optical magnifying elements, Equipped with, The aforementioned controller operation further includes: The steering actuator is operated to orient the optical phased array toward the target, During the first period, the plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the composite output light beam in the first direction relative to the optical phased array. During the first period, the optical emitter is operated to generate a beam of light that encodes the first information, thereby optically transmitting the first information to the target. During the second period, the plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the composite output light beam to a second direction relative to the optical phased array, wherein the second direction differs from the first direction. A system comprising operating the photodetector to detect second information optically transmitted from the target and received via the optical phased array during the second period. [Application Example 7] A system according to Application Example 1, further comprising an optical emitter, wherein the optical emitter is coupled to the optical phased array via a flexible optical fiber. [Application Example 8] The system described in Application Example 1, wherein the input light beam includes light having a wavelength between 380 nanometers and 2400 nanometers. [Application Example 9] The system according to Application Example 1, wherein the first optical expanding element comprises a first region and a second region, each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is associated with a tapered optical waveguide to which each emitter diffraction grating receives a corresponding portion of the input optical beam from the beam splitter, the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are located within the first region, the tapered optical waveguide and the beam splitter are located within the second region, and the ratio of the area of ​​the first region to the area of ​​the second region is greater than 19:1. [Application Example 10] The system described in Application Example 1, wherein the second aperture of the composite output light beam is greater than 5 centimeters. [Application Example 11] The system described in Application Example 1, wherein the system is an artificial satellite system, and the system further comprises An optical emitter configured to generate the input optical beam received by the optical phased array, A controller configured to perform controller operations, wherein the controller operations are The steering actuator is operated to orient the optical phased array toward the target, A system comprising operating the optical emitter to generate a beam of light encoding first information, thereby optically transmitting the first information to the target. [Application Example 12] The system described in Application Example 1, further, Equipped with a photodetector, The photodetector is optically coupled to the optical phased array so as to receive light received by the optical phased array from the direction of the output light beam via the plurality of optical magnifying elements, and the photodetector is an avalanche photodiode in this system. [Application Example 13] A method, A steering actuator is operated to orient the optical phased array toward a target, and the steering actuator is mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array. During the first period, multiple phase shifters of the optical phased array are operated to control the direction of the output light beam of the optical phased array in a first direction relative to the optical phased array. Transmitting the first information optically to the target during the first period, Transmitting the first information optically to the target during the first period, The optical emitter is operated to generate a beam of light that encodes the first information, The optical phased array is oriented toward the target, and the beam of light generated by the optical emitter is received by the optical phased array as an input light beam. During the second period, the plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the output light beam to a second direction relative to the optical phased array, wherein the second direction differs from the first direction. The second period includes optically receiving the second information from the target, A method comprising operating a photodetector optically coupled to the optical phased array to detect the second information optically transmitted from the target and received via the optical phased array. [Example 14] A method according to Example 13, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing and a plurality of coils, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets, and operating the steering actuator to orient the optical phased array toward the target comprises adjusting the orientation of the optical phased array by controlling the current supplied to the plurality of coils to apply force to the plurality of magnets. [Application Example 15] A method relating to Application Example 13, wherein the photodetector is an avalanche photodiode. [Application Example 16] A method according to Application Example 13, wherein the output light beam has an aperture greater than 5 centimeters. [Application Example 17] A method according to Application Example 13, wherein the optical phased array comprises a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, wherein the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than the second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is static. [Example 18] A method according to Example 13, wherein the beam of light encoding the first information comprises light having a wavelength between 380 nanometers and 2400 nanometers. [Example 19] A product comprising a computer-readable medium, wherein the computer-readable medium stores program instructions that, when executed by a computer device, cause the computer device to perform an action to affect the method of any one of claims 13 to 18. [Application Example 20] A system in which, A phased optical array configured to receive an input optical beam and emit an output optical beam, wherein the input optical beam has a first aperture smaller than the second aperture of the output optical beam. A system comprising: a steering actuator coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets.

Claims

1. It is a system, An optical phased array comprising a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, wherein the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than the second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is static. A steering actuator is mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array. An optical emitter configured to generate the input optical beam received by the optical phased array, A controller configured to perform controller operations, wherein the controller operations are The steering actuator is operated to orient the optical phased array toward the target, The optical emitter is operated to generate a beam of light that encodes the first information, thereby optically transmitting the first information to the target. A system that includes these features.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets.

3. A system according to claim 1, wherein the optical phased array comprises a plurality of optical magnifying elements, including the first optical magnifying element, and each of the plurality of optical magnifying elements receives a corresponding portion of the input optical beam and emits a corresponding portion of the composite output optical beam.

4. A system according to claim 3, further comprising a fixed phase plate, wherein the fixed phase plate provides static phase adjustment to the light emitted from each of the plurality of optical magnifying elements.

5. The system according to claim 3, further, Multiple phase shifters, each of which is operable to adjust the phase of light emitted from a corresponding optical magnifying element among the multiple optical magnifying elements with respect to the phase of the input optical beam, A controller configured to perform controller operations, wherein the controller operations are A system comprising operating the plurality of phase shifters to control the direction of the composite output light beam relative to the optical phased array.

6. The system according to claim 5, further, An optical emitter configured to generate the input optical beam received by the optical phased array, A photodetector is optically coupled to the optical phased array so as to receive light received by the optical phased array from the direction of the composite output light beam via the plurality of optical magnifying elements, Equipped with, The aforementioned controller operation further includes: During the first period, the plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the composite output light beam in the first direction relative to the optical phased array. During the first period, the optical emitter is operated to generate a beam of light that encodes the first information, thereby optically transmitting the first information to the target. During the second period, the plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the composite output light beam to a second direction relative to the optical phased array, wherein the second direction differs from the first direction. A system comprising operating the photodetector to detect second information optically transmitted from the target and received via the optical phased array during the second period.

7. A system according to claim 1, further comprising an optical emitter, wherein the optical emitter is coupled to the optical phased array via a flexible optical fiber.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the input light beam includes light having a wavelength between 380 nanometers and 2400 nanometers.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first optical expanding element comprises a first region and a second region, each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is associated with a tapered optical waveguide to which each emitter diffraction grating receives a corresponding portion of the input optical beam from the beam splitter, the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are located within the first region, the tapered optical waveguide and the beam splitter are located within the second region, and the ratio of the area of ​​the first region to the area of ​​the second region is greater than 19:

1.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second aperture of the composite output light beam is greater than 5 centimeters.

11. A system according to claim 1, wherein the system is an artificial satellite system.

12. The system according to claim 1, further, Equipped with a photodetector, The photodetector is optically coupled to the optical phased array so as to receive light received by the optical phased array from the direction of the composite output light beam via the first optical magnifying element, and the photodetector is an avalanche photodiode in this system.

13. It is a method, A steering actuator is operated to orient the optical phased array toward a target, and the steering actuator is mechanically coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array. During the first period, multiple phase shifters of the optical phased array are operated to control the direction of the output light beam of the optical phased array in a first direction relative to the optical phased array. During the first period, the first information is optically transmitted to the target, The optical emitter is operated to generate a beam of light that encodes the first information, The optical phased array is oriented toward the target, and the beam of light generated by the optical emitter is received by the optical phased array as an input light beam. During the second period, the plurality of phase shifters are operated to control the direction of the output light beam to a second direction relative to the optical phased array, wherein the second direction differs from the first direction. The system includes optically receiving second information from the target during the second period, and optically receiving the second information from the target during the second period is A method comprising operating a photodetector optically coupled to the optical phased array to detect the second information optically transmitted from the target and received via the optical phased array.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing and a plurality of coils, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets, and the steering actuator being operated to orient the optical phased array toward the target comprises adjusting the orientation of the optical phased array by controlling the current supplied to the plurality of coils to apply force to the plurality of magnets.

15. A method according to claim 13, wherein the photodetector is an avalanche photodiode.

16. A method according to claim 13, wherein the output light beam has an aperture greater than 5 centimeters.

17. A method according to claim 13, wherein the optical phased array comprises a first optical expanding element having at least two emitter diffraction gratings and a beam splitter, wherein the at least two emitter diffraction gratings are configured to receive corresponding portions of an input optical beam via the beam splitter and emit corresponding portions of a composite output optical beam of the optical phased array, the input optical beam having a first aperture smaller than a second aperture of the composite output optical beam, and the relative phase between the light emitted from each of the at least two emitter diffraction gratings is static.

18. A method according to claim 13, wherein the beam of light encoding the first information includes light having a wavelength between 380 nanometers and 2400 nanometers.

19. A product comprising a computer-readable medium, wherein the computer-readable medium stores program instructions that, when executed by a computer device, cause the computer device to perform an action to affect the method of any one of claims 13 to 18.

20. It is a system, A phased optical array configured to receive an input optical beam and emit an output optical beam, wherein the input optical beam has a first aperture smaller than the second aperture of the output optical beam. A system comprising: a steering actuator coupled to the optical phased array and configured to adjust the orientation of the optical phased array, wherein the steering actuator is a two-axis actuator and configured to orient the optical phased array toward a target, and the steering actuator comprises a magnetic bearing, the magnetic bearing comprising a plurality of magnets and a layer of diamagnetic material configured to repel the plurality of magnets.

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