High-speed laser beam attenuators based on electro-optic Bragg gratings

Suning Tang; Yuanji Tang; Baofeng Duan; Thomas S. Hartwick; James Foshee

doi:10.1117/12.771481

5 February 2008 High-speed laser beam attenuators based on electro-optic Bragg gratings

Suning Tang, Yuanji Tang, Baofeng Duan, Thomas S. Hartwick, James Foshee

Proceedings Volume 6838, Optoelectronic Devices and Integration II; 68380A (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.771481
Event: Photonics Asia 2007, 2007, Beijing, China

Abstract

This paper provides research progress in the development of fast electro-optic gratings for laser beam attenuations and in free space optical (FSO) communications involving mobile terminals. The electro-optic phase grating is formed by the phase separation of ~100nm liquid crystals droplets from a polymerizing organic matrix using holographic interference technique. The formed grating separates the incident laser beam into the output beams: the transmitted and diffracted beam, whose intensities can be electrically adjusted through electro-optic effect. The fast electro-optic gratings have a very fast electro-optic response time of 50 μs with diffraction efficiency above 99.8%. Optical receivers used in FSO have a limited dynamic range and there is a need for in-line variable attenuators to keep the signal levels from overloading the receiver. These attenuators should be continuous, provide sufficient attenuation, and also provide a low insertion loss for weak signal reception. The use of electro-optic phase gratings is one solution to meet the requirements for an in-line attenuator for FSO.

Citation Download Citation

Suning Tang, Yuanji Tang, Baofeng Duan, Thomas S. Hartwick, and James Foshee "High-speed laser beam attenuators based on electro-optic Bragg gratings", Proc. SPIE 6838, Optoelectronic Devices and Integration II, 68380A (5 February 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.771481

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