Patent ID: 9104086
Filing Date: 2015-08-11
Classification: B82Y,G02B,G02F,Y10S

Abstract:
1. Optical beam-steering apparatus comprising: one or more optical waveguides; at least one row of at least sixteen metallic nanoantenna elements overlying and electromagnetically coupled to a respective waveguide, in which individual nanoantenna elements are spaced apart along an optical propagation axis of the respective waveguide so that there is an optical propagation phase delay between successive pairs of nanoantenna elements along the row, and wherein the individual nanoantenna elements are spaced apart with a period that is less than an operating wavelength of the optical beam-steering apparatus; one or more heating elements arranged such that to each of the respective waveguides there corresponds a respective single electric heating element in thermal contact with its corresponding respective waveguide and arranged to heat, substantially uniformly, at least that portion of its corresponding respective waveguide that directly underlies the corresponding row of nanoantenna elements.