Planar Phased Array Design for Quantum Free Space Optical Communications

This work presents a design approach for optical phased arrays for quantum communication applications. The proposed scheme aims at reducing the complexity of the array architecture while handling very large element spacing due to the technological constraints of programmable photonic circuits. The methodology exploits radio frequency phased array techniques based on evolutionary algorithms for the optimization of the array geometry, minimizing the number of antennas while complying with quantum communication applications requirements in terms of side lobe levels and beam width.