Patterned mirror edge for stray beam and interference mitigation

An optoelectronic device, comprising:

• an output optic, having one or more optical surfaces;
• a light source configured to emit a beam of light;
• a mirror comprising:
• a central region configured to reflect the beam from the light source through the output optic along an axis toward a target scene;
• and
• a peripheral region having a width of at least 1 mm surrounding the central region, and having an optical density that decreases smoothly in a radial direction over the width;
• an optical sensor;
• and
• light collection optics, which are configured to receive the light returned from the target scene through the output optic via a collection aperture surrounding the mirror and to focus the collected light along the axis onto the optical sensor.

A method for optical sensing, comprising:

• providing a mirror comprising a central reflective region surrounded by a peripheral glare-suppressing region;
• directing a beam of light from a laser light source to reflect from the central region so as to pass through an output optic along an axis toward a target scene;
• and
• focusing the light returned from the target scene through the output optic onto an optical sensor, via collection optics having a collection aperture surrounding the mirror.