Optoelectronic Infrastructure for RF/Optical Phased Arrays

Optoelectronic integrated circuits offer radiation-hard solutions for satellite systems with much improved SWPB (size, weight, power and bandwidth). The phased array for sensing and data transfer is one system that optoelectronics can impact in the near term. It is known that optical delay could enable optimum beam steering electronic scanning . Lidar is another sensing system using optical beams that requires mechanical steering. In this SBIR a new integrated circuit technology is applied to the RF array with true time delay for beam steering and combined in the same physical location with an optical beam steered via current control. The integrated components required are lasers, amplifiers, modulators, detectors and optical waveguide switches. The RF at Ka band is generated by an optoelectronic oscillator and converted to RF power in a photodiode at the antenna element. The antenna element is a printed dipole on chip with optimized dimensions Ka band operation. The optical source is an array of vertical cavity lasers closely spaced and coupled by anti-guiding to enable coherent operation. Optical beam steering is achieved by controlling the current in a 2D array. In this SBIR, ODIS will develop the key components integration to produce common RF/optical aperture operation.

NASA applications encompass the entire range of integrated systems in space combining both optical and electronic capability. Current and future satellites include 1)sensing in the uv, visible, NIR, MWIR, LWIR, VLWIR, 2)radar and communications in the mmw ¿¿ THz region, 3)computation and digital signal processing, 3)laser communications transceiver functions and fiber optic interconnect throughout the satellite, 3)all-optical-switching including the router, the switching fabric and the control function and 4)optical arrays. A prominent application is the RF phased array combined with optical arrays in the same aperture which represent a multitude of sensors mounted on the satellite external surfaces covering wide bands in the mm wave band and separately in the optical spectrum. The POET technology base has great potential to address this sensing with unique ability to collapse the sensors into a single aperture. Simultaneously POET address many internal computational requirements related to on-board communications.

Phased arrays with electronic scanning represent a huge future commercial market in the wireless, security and free space optics communications industries. The optoelectronic integration platform being developed here provides a cost effective approach to combine optical and electronic device capabilities from which to generate the components for computer buses, AD converters, optical data links, optical switching matrices, optical routers, optical memories and many more yet to be identified. The integrated approach is the key to reduced cost and improved reliability.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.