Photonic Assisted Beam Steering Enabled by Hybrid Integration of InP-based Antenna Array and Polymer-based Optical Phased Array

Beam steering is advantageous for continuous-wave terahertz applications in sensing, imaging, and wireless communication. While wide spread in lower frequency bands, in the terahertz region complex emitter and receiver structures are hardly feasible with discrete devices, due to the shorter wavelengths. Therefore, we propose and demonstrate the use of photonic integration: A 1x4 antenna array based on photodiodes is driven by an optical phased array based on polymer. The packaged emitter features increased directivity and enables beam steering across 30 °.