THE USE OF A SERIES OF LENS ARRAYS TO MATCH OPTICAL ARRAYS OF DIFFERENT PITCH

Miniature optical components are often manufactured and used in arrays of predetermined pitch. Charge coupled detector arrays, diode laser a rrays and modulators such as liquid crystal arrays are familiar exampl es, often encountered in high-speed applications. The technology is re latively new and standard dimensions are still evolving. To enable arr ays with differing pitch to be interfaced, a system that optically con verts the pitch of one army to match that of another is desirable. One way of doing this is to use arrays of microlenses, combined to produc e a beam steering system based on the Gabor superlens. A simple exampl e that converts an array of 64 beams is described.