Harry Atwater
California Institute of Technology
ESI18 Harry Atwater Quad Chart
This proposal seeks to exploit rapid advances in chip-based nanophotonics technology to create future laser-based beam steering space communication systems that enable greatly increased spacecraft communications bandwidth, while dramatically decreasing the required size, weight and power (SWaP). In particular, we will leverage our recent development of tunable metasurface chip-based nanophotonic antenna phased arrays, operating in the C-band wavelength regime (1530-1565 nm) to create ultracompact low-power optical phased arrays capable of electronic beam steering. This chip-based optical beam steering component technology will be used to experimentally demonstrate a prototype omni-directional optical antenna whose active elements enable operation over an angular range of 4pi steradians, with no moving parts. Also, multi-bands multiple access will be investigated.