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US 11,143,801 B2Granted
Diffractive optical element and method for the manufacture thereof
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorsReinhold Fiess, Tobias Graf
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A diffractive optical element includes at least two diffractive structures situated next to one another, having differing functionalities, and being configured to, responsive to being irradiated independently of one another with incoherent laser light from beams of their respectively coupled laser sources, generate respective diffraction patterns that do not interfere with one another and that combine as an overall diffraction pattern in a far field. A method is provided for manufacturing such a diffractive optical element.
Claims12
A LIDAR system comprising:
- at least two laser sources;
- and
- for each of the at least two laser sources, a respective corresponding diffractive structure coupled to the respective laser source, wherein:
- the corresponding diffractive structures are situated next to one another and are configured to, responsive to being irradiated independently of one another with incoherent laser light from beams of their respectively coupled laser sources, generate respective diffraction patterns that do not interfere with one another and that combine as an overall diffraction pattern in a far field;
- and
- at least one of the following four features (a)-(d):
- (a) each of the respective diffraction patterns is a respective pattern of a plurality of emitted components, and, in the overall diffraction pattern, at least one of the emitted components of the respective pattern of one of the respective diffraction patterns is arranged between a respective pair of the emitted components of the respective pattern of another one of the respective diffraction patterns, so that the emitted components of the one of the respective diffraction pattern and the emitted components of the other one of the respective diffraction patterns are interwoven in the overall diffraction pattern;
- (b) the diffraction patterns are each formed of respective emitted beams that are self coherent;
- (c) at least one of the diffractive structures includes a weakening filter and at least one other of the diffractive structures does not include any weakening filter so that respective intensities of their respective output diffraction patterns are standardized to each other;
- (d) the diffractive structures are structured differently from one another so that, for a pair of adjacent ones of the diffractive structures:
- a first one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures is configured to emit a respective beam in a first direction that is at a first angle relative to the first one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures;
- a second one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures is configured to emit a respective beam in a second direction that is at a second angle relative to the second one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures, the second angle being different than the first angle;
- and
- the first and second directions are oblique to each other.
11 more elements
A motor vehicle comprising:
- a control system;
- and
- connected to the control system, a LIDAR system that includes:
- at least two laser sources;
- and
- for each of the at least two laser sources, a respective corresponding diffractive structure coupled to the respective laser source;
- wherein:
- the corresponding diffractive structures are situated next to one another and are configured to, responsive to being irradiated independently of one another with incoherent laser light from beams of their respectively coupled laser sources, generate respective diffraction patterns that do not interfere with one another and that combine as an overall diffraction pattern in a far field;
- and
- at least one of the following four features (a)-(d):
- (a) each of the respective diffraction patterns is a respective pattern of a plurality of emitted components, and, in the overall diffraction pattern, at least one of the emitted components of the respective pattern of one of the respective diffraction patterns is arranged between a respective pair of the emitted components of the respective pattern of another one of the respective diffraction patterns, so that the emitted components of the one of the respective diffraction pattern and the emitted components of the other one of the respective diffraction patterns are interwoven in the overall diffraction pattern;
- (b) each of the diffraction patterns are formed of respective emitted beams that are self coherent;
- (c) at least one of the diffractive structures includes a weakening filter and at least one other of the diffractive structures does not include any weakening filter so that respective intensities of their respective output diffraction patterns are standardized to each other;
- and
- (d) the diffractive structures are structured differently from one another so that, for a pair of adjacent ones of the diffractive structures:
- a first one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures is configured to emit a respective beam in a first direction that is at a first angle relative to the first one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures;
- a second one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures is configured to emit a respective beam in a second direction that is at a second angle relative to the second one of the pair of the adjacent ones of the diffractive structures, the second angle being different than the first angle;
- and
- the first and second directions are oblique to each other.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.