Compact beam-steering telescope using MEMS phase light modulator

Beam steering is critical for applications such as lidar, free-space optical communication (FSOC), and remote sensing. Micromirror based MEMS spatial light modulators (SLMs) are an attractive option because of their fast, quasi-solid-state operation with high spatial resolution. However, their steering range is fundamentally limited by the grating equation to ± λ/2d, where d is the pixel pitch of the device. We present a compact phase light modulator (PLM) telescope for 1550 nm beam steering that overcomes this constraint. Using a folded geometry with polarization optics and refractive elements, the system achieves angular coverage beyond the λ/2d limit in a compact, non-mechanical format. This design enables scalable, robust, and high-speed beam steering with 5X field of view.