# US 2023/0053484 A1 · Multi-Static Coherent LiDAR > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2023/0053484 A1 - Document ID: US20230053484A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/979,931 - Filed: 2022-11-03 - Published: 2023-02-23 - Earliest claimed: 2018-05-03 - Assignees: Analog Photonics LLC - Applicants: Analog Photonics LLC - Inventors: Peter Nicholas Russo; Ehsan Shah Hosseini - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230053484A1 ## CPC - G01S 7/4914: of detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates - G01S 17/42: Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S17/46) - G01S 7/282: Transmitters - G01S 17/34: using transmission of continuous, frequency-modulated waves while heterodyning the received signal, or a signal derived therefrom, with a locally-generated signal related to the contemporaneously transmitted signal - H01Q 3/2676: {Optically controlled phased array} - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - H01Q: ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS (radiators or antennas for microwave heating H05B6/72) ## Abstract At least one beam of an optical wave is transmitted along a transmission angle toward a target location from a send aperture of a transmitter. A collected optical wave is received at receive apertures of two or more receivers. Each receiver comprises: a receive aperture arranged in proximity to at least one of the send aperture or a receive aperture of a different receiver, an optical phased array within the receive aperture, which receives at least a portion of a collected optical wave arriving at the receive aperture along a respective collection angle, and a detector that provides a signal based on the received portion of the collected optical wave. An estimated distance associated with the collected optical wave is determined based on a combination that includes a respective component corresponding to each of two or more of the signals provided from the detectors of the two or more receivers. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus, comprising: at least one transmitter comprising a send aperture configured to provide at least one beam of a transmitted optical wave along a transmission angle toward a target location; two or more receivers, each receiver comprising: a receive aperture arranged in proximity to at least one of the send aperture or a receive aperture of a different receiver, the receive aperture being configured to receive at least a portion of a first collected optical wave arriving at the receive aperture, and a detector configured to provide a signal based on the received portion of the first collected optical wave; and circuitry configured to determine an estimated distance associated with the first collected optical wave based at least in part on a combination that includes a respective component corresponding to each of two or more of the signals provided from the detectors of the two or more receivers; wherein the send aperture is further configured to receive at least a portion of a second collected optical wave arriving at the send aperture and at least one of the receive apertures. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each detector comprises a coherent detector configured to optically combine the received portion of the first collected optical wave with a local oscillator optical wave to provide a combined optical wave and to detect the combined optical wave to provide the signal. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein there is a frequency shift between the local oscillator and the transmitted optical wave to enable heterodyne detection in coherent detectors. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each signal comprises an amplitude and a phase angle, and the respective component corresponding to that signal comprises a quantity that is based on the amplitude and is independent from the phase angle. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to convert each signal to digital form and to process the signals in digital form to remove dependence on the phase angles. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The apparatus of claim 4, wherein at least one coherent detector is configured to use a first local oscillator optical wave to provide an in-phase combined optical wave and to use a second local oscillator optical wave shifted relative to the first local oscillator wave to provide a quadrature combined optical wave, and to provide the amplitude and phase angle in an In-phase/Quadrature (I/Q) space. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the circuitry is configured to perform a transform on a real-valued signal provided from one of the detectors to provide the amplitude and phase angle in a complex space of a resulting complex transform of the real-valued signal. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each detector is configured to generate a current that represents a difference between photocurrents generated by a pair of balanced photodetectors. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a total quantity of the receive apertures is between 3 and 20. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a total quantity of the receive apertures is between 4 and 10. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a total quantity of send apertures is 1. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein an area of each receive apertures is equal to an area of the send aperture within a factor of between 4/9 to 9/4. ### Claim 13 (canceled) ### Claim 14 (canceled) ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises an optical phased array within the send aperture. ### Claim 16 (canceled) ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The apparatus of claim 15, wherein at least one optical phased array within the send aperture or at least one of the receive apertures is configured to steer a first angle using phases of elements of the optical phased array and to steer a second angle using wavelength. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmitter applies linear frequency modulation to the transmitted optical wave to enable the circuitry to determine the estimated distance. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the send aperture is further configured to include an optical phased array used to receive at least a portion of the second collected optical wave having a different characteristic from a characteristic of the transmitted optical wave, and at least one of the receive apertures is used as a send aperture for providing a beam of an optical wave having the different characteristic. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the characteristic comprises at least one of: wavelength, time slot, or polarization. ### Claim 21 A method, comprising: providing at least one beam of a transmitted optical wave along a transmission angle toward a target location from a send aperture of a transmitter; receiving a first collected optical wave at receive apertures of two or more receivers, each receiver comprising: a receive aperture arranged in proximity to at least one of the send aperture or a receive aperture of a different receiver, the receive aperture being configured to receive at least a portion of a first collected optical wave arriving at the receive aperture, and a detector configured to provide a signal based on the received portion of the first collected optical wave; receiving at least a portion of a second collected optical wave at the send aperture and at least one of the receive apertures; and determining an estimated distance associated with the first collected optical wave based at least in part on a combination that includes a respective component corresponding to each of two or more of the signals provided from the detectors of the two or more receivers.