Liquid crystal beam directors for airborne free-space optical communications

Liquid crystal beam directors for airborne free-space optical communications are discussed and compared with several types of purely mechanical beam directors (i.e., gimbals) in terms of performance, size, weight and power (SWaP). Beam director requirements for initial laser pointing and link acquisition are described. The fine and coarse steering capabilities of liquid crystal optical phased arrays and emerging liquid crystal wide-angle steering technologies are discussed, with particular emphasis on agility and tracking smoothness.