LiDAR system and method of driving the same

A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system comprising:

• a light source;
• a beam steering device comprising an optical phase array (OPA) that comprises a plurality of channels, the plurality of channels being respectively configured to modulate a phase of light from the light source and to output a first light beam in a first direction and a second light beam in a second direction, simultaneously, the first light beam and the second light beam respectively corresponding to a main lobe and a side lobe of a beam profile formed by the OPA;
• a receiver comprising a plurality of light detection elements configured to respectively receive the first light beam and the second light beam radiated onto an object in the first direction and the second direction from the beam steering device and reflected from the object;
• a processor configured to control the beam steering device to scan the object by using a plurality of scanning lines simultaneously, the plurality of scanning lines being formed by adjusting each of the first direction and the second direction, the processor being configured to analyze a time difference or a spatial distribution of a plurality of light beams respectively received by the plurality of light detection elements included in the receiver and thereby individually process the first light beam and the second light beam radiated onto the object in the first direction and the second direction, respectively;
• and
• a phase setter configured to configure a binary phase profile in which a phase value implemented in each of the plurality of channels of the beam steering device is one of a first phase value φ1 and a second phase value φ2.

A method of driving a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, the method comprising:

• controlling a beam steering device to cause a first light beam and a second light beam output from an optical phase array (OPA), the first light beam and the second light beam respectively corresponding to a main lobe and a side lobe of a beam profile formed by the OPA, to scan an object by using a plurality of scanning lines simultaneously, the plurality of scanning lines being formed by adjusting a first direction and a second direction of the first light beam and the second light beam output from the beam steering device, respectively;
• receiving light reflected from the object by a receiver comprising a plurality of light detection elements configured to respectively sense the first light beam and the second light beam reflected from the object;
• and
• individually processing each of a plurality of signals by analyzing a time difference and a spatial distribution of the light sensed at the receiver, based on identification of specific detection elements which receive the first light beam and the second light beam, among the plurality of detection elements, and an amount of light that is detected by each of the specific detection elements, wherein each of the plurality of signals corresponds to a signal received by the light radiated onto the object in one of a plurality of scanning directions
• wherein the beam steering device is further configured to operate according to a binary phased array profile that uses only two phase values to modulate the phase of light, and
• wherein the method further comprises obtaining the spatial distribution of the light which has peak light intensity values at the two phase values.