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US 2021/0333443 A1Published application
Wide-Angle Beam Steering
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Colorado, a body corporate
InventorsJuliet T. Gopinath, Victor M. Bright, Mo Zohrabi, Robert H. Cormack
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Wide-angle beam steering using two or more variable lenses to form a small-angle beam steering element, along with a numerical aperture converter and a wide-angle lens. The small-angle beam steering element might comprise either one- or two-dimensional beam steering with tunable liquid lenses.
Claims19
Apparatus for wide-angle beam steering of an input beam comprising:
- a small-angle beam steering element for steering the input beam to form a small-angle steered beam;
- a numerical aperture converter for spreading the small-angle steered beam;
- and
- a wide-angle optical element for increasing a scanned angle of the spread beam up to at least about +/−75°;
- wherein the small-angle beam steering element is configured to compensate for divergence changes cause by the wide-angle element, thereby controlling the divergence of the beam.
2 more elements
A beam steering device comprising:
- a first tunable liquid lens configured to be centered on the input beam for divergence control;
- a second tunable liquid lens configured to be decentered relative to the input beam, thereby scanning the beam;
- a numerical aperture converter;
- and
- a wide-angle lens element for increasing a scanned angle of an output beam up to at least about +/−75°;
- wherein the first tunable liquid lens is configured to compensate for a focal change caused by the second tunable liquid lens, resulting in a compensated beam;
- and
- wherein the numerical aperture converter is configured to spread the compensated beam.
5 more elements
A small-angle beam steering device for steering an input beam comprising:
- a first tunable liquid lens configured to be centered on the input beam;
- and
- a second tunable liquid lens configured to be decentered relative to the input beam, thereby scanning the beam;
- wherein the first lens is configured to compensate for a focal change caused by the second tunable liquid lens;
- and wherein the first lens is configured to compensate for divergence changes cause by the wide-angle element, thereby controlling the divergence of the beam.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.