Imaging-based beam steering for free-space optical communication

Imaging-based beam steering (IBBS) provides a route to compact, low-power, and low-cost beam steering ideal for mobile free-space optical communications (FSOC), LIDAR imaging, and other active illumination applications. In IBBS, a lens passively maps each pixel of a 2D emitter array into a unique line-of-sight direction. Electronic beam steering of multiple beams with dynamic beam shaping is implemented via pixel selection. We demonstrate efficient collection and collimation of light from an organic LED array into 1.24 mrad divergence beams with pointing accuracy of 5.5 mrad and demonstrate a 41 m optical link. Simulations and scaling analysis of IBBS-FSOC links predict effective ranges >1 km using high-brightness vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser arrays.