US 12,596,181 B2 · Scanning lidar with optical switching

Abstract

A scanning LiDAR with no moving parts includes a laser transmitter with a first magneto-optic switch delivering pulses to a first linear fiber array to a field of view (FOV), a receiver with optics directing reflected light to a second, orthogonal linear fiber array coupled to a second magneto-optic switch to deliver the light to a detector, and a controller to process detector signals and generate FOV data. A scanning method for improving resolution includes scanning along a first direction, directing light reflected from an object along a second direction orthogonal to the first direction to form a received beam provided to a detector, processing detector signals to generate a pixel array, and varying an intensity profile within a pixel to move peak intensity in a continuous manner within the pixel by synchronously varying polarization of the transmitted and received light using associated Faraday rotators and phase masks.

Claims28

Dependent claims

A method comprising:

generating laser pulses;
optically switching the laser pulses to each of a first plurality of fibers arranged in a first linear array to illuminate a field of view;
shaping the laser pulses output from the first plurality of fibers to form pulsed beams having elliptical cross-sections with an angular divergence along a first axis at least 20 times greater than an angular divergence along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis;
directing light reflected from an object illuminated by the laser pulses within the field of view to a second plurality of fibers arranged in a second linear array, wherein the second linear array of fibers is positioned orthogonally to the first linear array of fibers;
optically switching light from the second plurality of fibers to direct the light to at least one detector;
and
processing signals from the detector to generate data representing the field of view, the data corresponding to pixels with each pixel corresponding to an intersection of the elliptically shaped cross sections of the transmitted and received pulsed beams.

4 more elements

A scanning lidar system comprising:

a transmitter including a laser and a first optical switch configured to receive laser pulses from the laser;
a first plurality of fibers each coupled to a different one of a plurality of outputs of the first optical switch, wherein outputs of the first plurality of fibers are positioned in a first linear array;
a first at least one optical element configured to receive the laser pulses from at least one of the first plurality of fibers and to redirect the laser pulses to illuminate at least a portion of a field of view, wherein the first at least one optical element comprises an aspherical lens configured to form an output beam having an elliptical cross section;
a receiver including a second optical switch and at least one detector;
a second plurality of fibers each coupled to a different input of the second optical switch, an output of the second optical switch coupled to the at least one detector, wherein outputs of the second plurality of fibers are positioned in a second linear array orthogonal to the first linear array;
a second at least one optical element configured to receive the laser pulses reflected from the field of view and to redirect received reflected pulses to at least one of the second plurality of fibers, wherein the second at least one optical element comprises collection optics positioned upstream of beam shaping optics, the beam shaping optics configured to form beams having an elliptical cross section;
and
at least one controller configured to control the first optical switch to direct the laser pulses from an input of the first optical switch to each of the plurality of outputs in turn, to control the second optical switch to direct light from each of the second plurality of fibers in turn to the output of the second optical switch, and to process signals from the at least one detector to generate data representing the field of view, wherein the data correspond to pixels with each pixel corresponding to an intersection of the elliptically shaped cross sections of the transmitted and received pulsed beams.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Scanning lidar with optical switching

Life of this patent

Scanning lidar with optical switching

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims28