Beam steering device and system including the same
A beam steering device includes a waveguide configured to transmit a beam therethrough; a cladding layer provided on the waveguide and including a material having a refractive index that varies according to a voltage applied thereto; and an electrode layer including at least two electrodes configured to independently voltages to at least two portions of the cladding layer.
1. A beam steering device configured to steer a beam incident from a light source towards an object, comprising:
a waveguide configured to transmit the beam incident from the light source therethrough;
a cladding layer provided on the waveguide and comprising a material having a refractive index that varies according to a voltage applied thereto;
an electrode layer comprising at least two electrodes configured to independently apply voltages to at least two portions of the cladding layer to steer the beam to the object; and
an insulating material provided between the at least two electrodes,
wherein the electrode layer comprises a first portion configured to apply a first voltage to a first portion of the cladding layer and a second portion configured to apply a second voltage to a second portion of the cladding layer, the first voltage and the second voltage being greater than zero, and
wherein a boundary between the first portion and the second portion has a stepped structure based on the first voltage and the second voltage.
2. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two electrodes are electrically independent.
3. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the cladding layer comprises an electro-optic material.
4. The beam steering device of claim 3 , wherein the electro-optic material comprises a liquid crystal, TiN, KTa1-xNbO3 (KTN), or NbOx.
5. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the cladding layer comprises an oxide semiconductor.
6. The beam steering device of claim 5 , wherein the oxide semiconductor comprises at least one from among Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO), Indium-Zinc-Oxide (IZO), Ga—In—Zn-Oxide (GIZO), Al—Zn-Oxide (AZO), Ga—Zn-Oxide (GZO), and ZnO.
7. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide comprises silicon or silicon nitride.
8. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is configured to operate as an electrode.
9. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the at least two electrodes of the electrode layer comprise a plurality of pixel electrodes that are arranged in a matrix and are electrically independent.
10. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the cladding layer comprises a metal oxide semiconductor structure provided along with the electrode layer.
11. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein the cladding layer comprises a first layer and a second layer,
wherein the first layer comprises at least one from among Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO), Indium-Zinc-Oxide (IZO), Ga—In—Zn-Oxide (GIZO), Al—Zn-Oxide (AZO), Ga—Zn-Oxide (GZO), and ZnO and the second layer comprises any one from among HfO2, Al2O3, SiNx, and SiO2.
12. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide, the cladding layer, and the electrode layer are repeatedly stacked at least two times.
13. The beam steering device of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide is configured to operate as an active prism according to a change in the refractive index of the cladding layer.
14. A system comprising:
a light source;
a beam steering device configured to steer a beam incident from the light source towards an object; and
a detector configured to detect the beam steered by the beam steering device and reflected by the object,
wherein the beam steering device comprises:
a waveguide configured to transmit the beam therethrough;
a cladding layer provided on the waveguide and comprising a material having a refractive index that varies according to a voltage applied thereto;
an electrode layer comprising at least two electrodes configured to independently apply voltages to at least two portions of the cladding layer; and
an insulating material provided between the at least two electrodes,
wherein the electrode layer comprises a first portion configured to apply a first voltage to a first portion of the cladding layer and a second portion configured to apply a second voltage to a second portion of the cladding layer, the first voltage and the second voltage being greater than zero, and
wherein a boundary between the first portion and the second portion has a stepped structure based on the first voltage and the second voltage.
15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the cladding layer comprises an electro-optic material.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the electro-optic material comprises a liquid crystal, TiN, KTa1-xNbxO3 (KTN), or NbOx.
17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the cladding layer comprises an oxide semiconductor.
18. The system of claim 14 , wherein the at least two electrodes of the electrode layer comprise a plurality of pixel electrodes that are arranged in a matrix and are electrically independent.