Silicon photonic optical phased arrays leveraging from the well established CMOS fabrication process have become promising candidates to realize miniaturized beam steering systems. While different implementations of optical phased arrays have been successfully demonstrated, no investigations on the influence of thermal distortions on the response of these systems have been performed so far. Due to the high thermo-optic coefficient of silicon, the refractive index and thus the functionality of silicon photonic components depend strongly on the temperature. In highly integrated systems, consisting of several photonic components, in which laser sources and control electronics are directly integrated on top of the photonic IC, heat dissipated by active components leads to temperature gradients and offsets, affecting the functionality of the photonic system. Optical phased arrays consisting of an array of phase sensitive components, are particularly sensitive towards temperature. Therefore, precise investigations of the temperature dependence of the OPA functionality are required. This article aims to expand the understanding of the influence of thermal distortions on the steering angles of optical phased arrays. Thereto, analytical expressions describing the temperature dependence of the steering angles are provided and experimentally validated. The expressions are provided in a general form so that they can be applied to any OPA system regardless of its implementation.

中文翻译：

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硅光子光学相控阵转向角的温度依赖性

利用成熟的 CMOS 制造工艺的硅光子光学相控阵已成为实现小型化光束控制系统的有希望的候选者。虽然已经成功证明了光学相控阵的不同实现方式，但到目前为止还没有对热畸变对这些系统响应的影响进行调查。由于硅的热光系数高，因此硅光子组件的折射率和功能在很大程度上取决于温度。在由多个光子组件组成的高度集成系统中，激光源和控制电子设备直接集成在光子 IC 的顶部，有源组件散发的热量会导致温度梯度和偏移，影响光子系统的功能。由一系列相敏元件组成的光学相控阵列对温度特别敏感。因此，需要对 OPA 功能的温度依赖性进行精确研究。本文旨在扩大对热畸变对光学相控阵转向角影响的理解。此外，提供了描述转向角的温度相关性的解析表达式并进行了实验验证。这些表达式以通用形式提供，以便它们可以应用于任何 OPA 系统，而不管其实现如何。需要对 OPA 功能的温度依赖性进行精确研究。本文旨在扩大对热畸变对光学相控阵转向角影响的理解。此外，提供了描述转向角的温度相关性的解析表达式并进行了实验验证。这些表达式以通用形式提供，以便它们可以应用于任何 OPA 系统，而不管其实现如何。需要对 OPA 功能的温度依赖性进行精确研究。本文旨在扩大对热畸变对光学相控阵转向角影响的理解。此外，提供了描述转向角的温度相关性的解析表达式并进行了实验验证。这些表达式以通用形式提供，以便它们可以应用于任何 OPA 系统，而不管其实现如何。