Cascaded Optical Phased Array for Beam Steering Created by Domain Engineering in PMN–PT Single Crystal

Abstract We report the peculiarities of the electro-optic beam steering device development utilizing [001]‑cut Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 –PbTiO 3 (PMN–PT) crystals possessing tetragonal symmetry. Using surface fixation, we successfully fabricated the five-layer optical phased array (OPA) featuring a stable cascaded pattern of 180° domains with a low concentration of ferroelectric-ferroelastic domains. The electro-optic coefficient γ 33 of PMN–PT was estimated to be 134 pm/V and the quality of the cascaded domain structure was acceptable for achieving a steering ability of 0.32°/V/μm. Further optimization of domain engineering for PMN–PT crystals can significantly enhance device performance.