Progress and opportunities in optical beam steering (Conference Presentation)

Non-mechanical beam steering for optical systems has been important for decades, but with the dramatic increase in commercial applications, such as the driverless car, it is becoming even more important. In this paper, three decades of progress in optical beam steering is discussed, along with a comparison of approaches being developed. Non-mechanical optical beam steering is compared against mechanical steering approaches. Unique space fed beam steering approaches are discussed using different active electro optical media. Some electro optical beam steering systems are explained in detail and some methods to improve the efficiency are presented.