Pointing, acquisition, and tracking at 1550nm using MEMS phase light modulators

Jeff Chen M. M. Balaji G. Nero John M. Bass Ignacio A. Rojas M. Yasui Keaton Shurilla Avion M. Lowery Ivan B. Djordjevic Florian Willomitzer Thomas L. Koch Yushi Kaneda Young-sik Kim Yuzuru Takashima

Oct 2026 · Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans XV · 0 citations

Abstract

Free-space optical communication (FSOC) is a critical solution to meeting the global surge in demand for secure, high-bandwidth data links. However, the adoption of these systems is often throttled by the bulk and complexity of traditional mechanical steering components. In this work, we break this bottleneck by replacing conventional mirrors with a high-speed, Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based Phase Light Modulator (PLM). By deploying PLMs at both link terminals, we demonstrate a quasi-solid-state architecture in which a single aperture both steers the beam and sets its divergence, a combination that provides direct control over acquisition search time. We report successful link acquisition at 1550nm across a benchtop free-space channel using a spiral scan algorithm. We demonstrate that PLM-based systems provide a highly effective low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) path for next-generation optical networks.

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