Laser Power Transmission (LPT) is a promising technology for sending energy in space over large distances by high power density. For most proposed applications there is a need to steer and track a supplied object, for example a satellite. Therefore, the demands on the steering system is high; the beam's direction has to be controlled precisely and quickly. In past space laser applications, beam steering was realized by implementing a fast steering mirror. In order to achieve a higher resolution and more reliability, a non-mechanical steering system is desired. This paper presents a way to control the beam's direction by using a twisted nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator. A twisted nematic liquid crystal is operated as phase-only modulation when appropriate polarization states are used. This paper shows the way to achieve the optimal state for beam steering applications. In that way, an optical phased array antenna is realized and used for demonstrating scanning mechanism applicable for target searching.
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