Silicon photonics lens assisted beam steering emitter pixel array and photo-acoustic imaging pixel array devices

A silicon photonics integrated beam steering device, comprising:

• a light source;
• a light dispenser array operably coupled to the light source and comprising a plurality of light dispensers each having an output port, wherein each light dispenser output port is operably coupled to a chained Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) optical switch array;
• each chained MZI optical switch array comprising a plurality of MZI optical switches, wherein:
• (a) a first MZI optical switch is operably coupled in series with a second MZI optical switch, (b) the first MZI optical switch comprises a first MZI switch upper input port, a first MZI switch lower input port, a first MZI switch upper output port, a first MZI switch lower output port, and (c) the second MZI optical switch comprises a second MZI switch upper input port, a second MZI switch lower input port, a second MZI switch upper output port, a second MZI switch lower output port, and (d) the first MZI switch upper input port is operably coupled with a light dispenser, the first MZI switch upper output port is operably coupled with a first pixel, the first MZI switch lower output port is operably coupled with the second MZI switch upper input port, the second MZI switch upper output port is operably coupled with a second pixel, and the second MZI switch lower output port is configured to operably couple with an additional MZI optical switch;
• and
• a pixel array comprising the first pixel and the second pixel, each pixel comprising one or more optical structures configured to receive optical signals from the chained MZI optical switch array;
• wherein optical waveguides of the plurality of MZI optical switches and the one or more optical structures of the pixel array are formed in a same waveguide core layer.

A silicon photonics integrated beam steering device, comprising:

• a chained Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) optical switch array comprising a plurality of MZI optical switches in series;
• the plurality of MZI optical switches comprising:
• a first MZI optical switch comprising a first 1×2 multimode interferometer (MMI) on its input side and a first 2×2 MMI on its output side;
• a second MZI optical switch comprising a second 1×2 MMI on its input side and a second 2×2 MMI on its output side;
• the first MZI optical switch being configured in series with the second MZI optical switch, wherein the first MZI optical switch comprises a first MZI switch input port, two first MZI switch output ports and wherein the second MZI optical switch comprises a second MZI switch input port, two second MZI switch output ports;
• wherein the first MZI switch input port is configured to receive input light;
• a pixel array having a first pixel and a second pixel, each pixel comprising one or more optical structures configured to receive optical signals from the chained MZI optical switch array;
• wherein a first output port of the first MZI optical switch is operably coupled to the first pixel, and a second output port of the first MZI optical switch is operably coupled to the second MZI switch input port;
• and
• wherein at least one output port of the second MZI optical switch is operably coupled to the second pixel;
• wherein optical waveguides of the plurality of MZI optical switches and the one or more optical structures of the pixel array are formed in a same waveguide core layer.