Compact, fast‐response, continuous, and wide‐angle laser beam steerers

A liquid crystal‐cladding waveguide with resistive electrode configuration is proposed for laser beam steering applications. It can achieve wide‐angle, continuous coverage, two‐dimensional beam control with fast response time. With numerical validation, we find that in comparison with previous prismatic electrode approach, our device demonstrates higher compatibility with high birefringence liquid crystal materials, and thus, a more compact form factor can be realized. Such a beam steerer is attractive for a wide range of applications including automotive LiDAR, eye‐tracking for near‐eye displays, and high‐precision 3D printing.