Design and simulation of a novel large-angle optical beam scanner using the electro-optic effect

A novel type of electro-optic scanner is presented which can satisfy the requirements for high speed and large-angle. It is a two-stage cascade system which consists of a fine scanning system implemented by using voltage-controlled refraction-based electro-optic deflectors and a coarse scanning using several LiNbO 3 electro-optic switch and polarization beam splitter system. The deflection angle can be enlarged by using the coarse-fine cascaded system. We demonstrate the design scheme of the proposed large-angle optical beam scanner. The system is analyzed and simulated theoretically. It is shown that proper design of the parameters of coarse-fine cascaded two-stage system can lead to an optimal beam scanner with enhanced performance of large angle and high speed. The analysis and observations will be valuable for the accurate design and fabrication of the novel optical scanning devices based on electro-optic effect.