Resonance-enhanced integrated acousto-optic beam steering

Abstract

Optical beam steering is a key technology for free-space optical communication, sensing, and imaging. Mechanical beam steering systems suffer from limited scanning speed and bulky form factors, while existing solid-state solutions rely on pixelated synthetic aperture that requires complex fabrication and control architectures. Integrated acousto-optic beam steering is an emerging technology that enables continuous one-dimensional beam steering using integrated acoustic transducers and fixed-wavelength laser sources. Here, we integrate this approach with an optical ring resonator on the same thin-film lithium niobate platform to significantly enhance beam steering efficiency and system functionality. The resulting device achieves a resonance-enhanced beam steering efficiency of up to 26% and a field of view of 18∘. Moreover, by leveraging integrated electro-optic control, we dynamically lock the ring-resonator’s resonance to a chirped laser frequency, enabling frequency-modulated continuous-wave light detection and ranging operation. By combining lithium niobate’s piezoelectric and electro-optic properties, this work establishes a compact, efficient, and scalable beam-steering platform with co-integrated acousto-optic modulation and electro-optic control for multifunctional applications. The authors combine molecular-dimer calculations with simplified, coarse-grained simulations to predict the crystal structure of metal-organic cages and show how cage shape and the directionality of interactions influence the structures formed.