US Patent 7561760 - Optical beam steering using nanowires

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7561760.html

This patent from Northrop Grumman teaches electrically or magnetically steering optical signals transmitted in nanowires. Claim 1 reads:

1. A method for steering optical frequency beams using nanowire, comprising:

providing one or more nanowire waveguide arrays;

generating an optical frequency beam, wherein the optical frequency beam is incident on the one or more nanowire waveguide arrays;

controlling the one or more nanowire waveguide arrays to produce a phase delay in the optical frequency beam as it travels through nanowire waveguide array, wherein the phase delay causes the optical frequency beam to deflect upon exiting the one or more nanowire waveguide arrays; and

steering the optical frequency beam exiting the one or more nanowire waveguide arrays by increasing or decreasing the phase delay, wherein the angle of deflection of the exiting optical frequency beam is determined by the gradient of the phase delay.