High Speed Polarization Multiplexed Optical Scanner for Three Dimensional Scanning Applications

A versatile high speed 3-D scanner design is proposed and demonstrated for optical beamforming applications such as free-space laser communications, 3-D displays, scanning 3-D optical microscopy, data retrieval, and vision applications. The scanner consists of fast digital-analog control polarization-based optical beamforming cells resulting in complete three-dimensional beamforming programmability. Features include low electrical power consumption and large aperture beamforming optics, digital repeatability, and time multiplexed accurate analog beamforming. Analog frequency and amplitude control of the nematic liquid crystal beamformer cells allows continuous fine scan programmabitity over a 0.66 mrad horizontal-deflection, 0.75 mrad vertical deflection, and an infinity to 1.84 m focal length longitudinal scan, all at 1310nm. For the first time is demonstrated a coarse angular deflection of an 8-point linear 1-D scan at 1550 nm with a 35 μs random-access time.