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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDNature communications

Resonance-enhanced integrated acousto-optic beam steering.

  • Yue Yu1
  • Qixuan Lin1
  • Shucheng Fang1
  • Joseph G Thomas2
  • Yibing Zhou1
  • Zichen Xi2
  • Jun Ji2
  • Yizheng Zhu2
  • Linbo Shao2,3
  • Bingzhao Li1
  • Mo Li4,5
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
  2. 2Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
  3. 3Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering (VTQ), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
  4. 4Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. [email protected].
  5. 5Department of Physics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. [email protected].
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Abstract

Optical beam steering is a key technology for free-space optical communication, sensing, and imaging. Mechanical beam steering systems suffer from limited scanning speed and bulky form factors, while existing solid-state solutions rely on pixelated synthetic aperture that requires complex fabrication and control architectures. Integrated acousto-optic beam steering is an emerging technology that enables continuous one-dimensional beam steering using integrated acoustic transducers and fixed-wavelength laser sources. Here, we integrate this approach with an optical ring resonator on the same thin-film lithium niobate platform to significantly enhance beam steering efficiency and system functionality. The resulting device achieves a resonance-enhanced beam steering efficiency of up to 26% and a field of view of 18∘. Moreover, by leveraging integrated electro-optic control, we dynamically lock the ring-resonator's resonance to a chirped laser frequency, enabling frequency-modulated continuous-wave light detection and ranging operation. By combining lithium niobate's piezoelectric and electro-optic properties, this work establishes a compact, efficient, and scalable beam-steering platform with co-integrated acousto-optic modulation and electro-optic control for multifunctional applications.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{yu2026resonanceenhanced,
  title = {{Resonance-enhanced integrated acousto-optic beam steering.}},
  author = {Yue Yu and Qixuan Lin and Shucheng Fang and Joseph G Thomas and Yibing Zhou and Zichen Xi and Jun Ji and Yizheng Zhu and Linbo Shao and Bingzhao Li and Mo Li},
  journal = {Nature communications},
  year = {2026},
  month = sep,
  doi = {10.1038/s41467-026-77864-8},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901915},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Resonance-enhanced integrated acousto-optic beam steering.
AU  - Yue Yu
AU  - Qixuan Lin
AU  - Shucheng Fang
AU  - Joseph G Thomas
AU  - Yibing Zhou
AU  - Zichen Xi
AU  - Jun Ji
AU  - Yizheng Zhu
AU  - Linbo Shao
AU  - Bingzhao Li
AU  - Mo Li
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/19
JO  - Nature communications
DO  - 10.1038/s41467-026-77864-8
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42901915
AB  - Optical beam steering is a key technology for free-space optical communication, sensing, and imaging. Mechanical beam steering systems suffer from limited scanning speed and bulky form factors, while existing solid-state solutions rely on pixelated synthetic aperture that requires complex fabrication and control architectures. Integrated acousto-optic beam steering is an emerging technology that enables continuous one-dimensional beam steering using integrated acoustic transducers and fixed-wavelength laser sources. Here, we integrate this approach with an optical ring resonator on the same thin-film lithium niobate platform to significantly enhance beam steering efficiency and system functionality. The resulting device achieves a resonance-enhanced beam steering efficiency of up to 26% and a field of view of 18∘. Moreover, by leveraging integrated electro-optic control, we dynamically lock the ring-resonator's resonance to a chirped laser frequency, enabling frequency-modulated continuous-wave light detection and ranging operation. By combining lithium niobate's piezoelectric and electro-optic properties, this work establishes a compact, efficient, and scalable beam-steering platform with co-integrated acousto-optic modulation and electro-optic control for multifunctional applications.
SN  - 2041-1723
ER  -