Liquid crystal-based optical control of phased array antennas

Nematic liquid crystal (NLC) technology-based optical systems for controlling phased array antennas are presented. These systems can provide low-cost, high-quality (>6-b), phase-based antenna control for very large phased arrays (e.g. 5000 elements). An experiment demonstrating NLC-based antenna phase control is performed, with 0-3 pi phase shift measured for a 60-MHz carrier. A novel time-multiplexed radar beam scanning approach is introduced to counter the slow response of the NLCs, allowing fast 200 beams/s antenna scanning rates.<
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