We put forward and present a demonstration of an actively controlled optical beam steering optical wireless communication (OWC) system based on an integrated actively steerable optical phased array (OPA). We theoretically and experimentally analyze the emitted optical beam full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) divergence angle and field-of-view (FOV) of the proposed integrated actively steerable OPA. Experimental results show that the beam steering can be achieved over a range of 17° with a minimum optical beam FWHM divergence angle of 1.49°. Besides, the integrated OPA chip design, beam forming optimization, packaging, as well as temperature stabilization are also discussed. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is utilized to optimize the applied voltages for the 30 phase shifters to produce low-divergence optical beams in different directions. A proof-of-concept bit-error-rate (BER) measurement using 10 Gbit/s on-off-keying (OOK) signal is also carried out, and the beam steered optical signal satisfying the pre-forward error correction BER limit (pre-FEC BER = 3.8 × 10 ⁻³ ) is achieved.

Silicon photonics has recently expanded its applications to delivering free-space emissions for detecting or manipulating external objects. The most notable example is the silicon optical phased array, which can steer a free-space beam to achieve a chip-scale solid-state LiDAR. Other examples include free-space optical communication, quantum photonics, imaging systems, and optogenetic probes. In contrast to the conventional optical system consisting of bulk optics, silicon photonics miniaturizes an optical system into a photonic chip with many functional waveguiding components. By leveraging the mature and monolithic CMOS process, silicon photonics enables high-volume production, scalability, reconfigurability, and parallelism. In this paper, we review the recent advances in beam steering technologies based on silicon photonics, including optical phased arrays, focal plane arrays, and dispersive grating diffraction. Various beam-shaping technologies for generating collimated, focused, Bessel, and vortex beams are also discussed. We conclude with an outlook of the promises and challenges for the free-space applications of silicon photonics.

The emerging applications of silicon photonics in free space, such as LiDARs, free‐space optical communications, and quantum photonics, urge versatile emission shaping beyond the capabilities of conventional grating couplers. In these applications, silicon photonic chips deliver free‐space emission to detect or manipulate external objects. Light needs to emit from a silicon photonic chip to the free space with specific spatial modes, which produce focusing, collimation, orbital angular momentum, or even holographic projection. A platform that offers versatile shaping of free‐space emission, while maintaining the CMOS compatibility and monolithic integration of silicon photonics is in pressing need. Here we demonstrate a platform that integrates metasurfaces monolithically on silicon photonic integrated circuits. The metasurfaces consist of amorphous silicon nanopillars evanescently coupled to silicon waveguides. We demonstrate experimentally diffraction‐limited beam focusing with a Strehl ratio of 0.82. The focused spot can be switched between two positions by controlling the excitation direction. We also realize a meta‐hologram experimentally that projects an image above the silicon photonic chip. This platform can add a highly versatile interface to the existing silicon photonic ecosystems for precise delivery of free‐space emission.

Squeezed light, with its quantum noise reduction capabilities, has emerged as a powerful resource in quantum information processing and precision metrology. To reach noise reduction levels such that a quantum advantage is achieved, off-chip squeezers are typically used. The development of on-chip squeezed light sources, particularly in nanophotonic platforms, has been challenging. We report 3.7±0.2dB of directly detected nanophotonic quantum squeezing using foundry-fabricated silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) microrings with an inferred squeezing level of 10.2 dB on-chip. The squeezing level is robust across multiple devices and pump detunings, and is consistent with the overcoupling degree without noticeable degradation from excess classical noise. We also offer insights to mitigate thermally induced excess noise, which typically degrades squeezing, by using small-radius rings with a larger free spectral range (450 GHz) and consequently lower parametric oscillation thresholds. Our results demonstrate that Si₃N₄ is a viable platform for strong quantum noise reduction in a CMOS-compatible, scalable architecture.

This work presents a novel scheme for a 4-dimensional (D) frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LiDAR, which demonstrates an unprecedentedly high velocity sensitivity. This is achieved by utilizing the driving waveform to minimize the phase noise originating from the distributed feedback (DFB) laser during the wavelength sweeping process on the transmitting side, while on the receiving end, we use a combination of a self-injection-locked oscillator (SILO) and an avalanche photodiode (APD) with a cascaded multiplication layer, to ensure excellent responsivity and saturation current performance. Comparison is made with a reference LiDAR system comprised of the traditional radio-frequency (RF) oscillator with a p-i-n PD at the receiving-end. The results show that our SILO + APD design provides much better quality 4-D images of slow-moving objects (5 μm/sec) and state-of-the-art velocity sensitivity. This can be attributed to a reduction in the phase noise of the down-converted baseband signals, which is beneficial to the resolution of a small Doppler frequency shift. Furthermore, the incorporation of a high-performance APD also improves the contrast ratio between the object and the background pixels. These improvements offer new possibilities for the development of the next generation of 4-D FMCW LiDARs capable of simultaneously providing the absolute 3-D geometric size and small vibration information.

Chip-scale photonic systems that manipulate free-space emission have recently attracted attention for applications such as free-space optical communications and solid-state LiDAR. Silicon photonics, as a leading platform for chip-scale integration, needs to offer more versatile control of free-space emission. Here we integrate metasurfaces on silicon photonic waveguides to generate free-space emission with controlled phase and amplitude profiles. We demonstrate experimentally structured beams, including a focused Gaussian beam and a Hermite-Gaussian TEM₁₀ beam, as well as holographic image projections. Our approach is monolithic and CMOS-compatible. The simultaneous phase and amplitude control enable more faithful generation of structured beams and speckle-reduced projection of holographic images.