Pseudo monostatic lidar with two-dimensional silicon photonic mems switch array
AssigneenEYE Systems, Inc.
InventorsTae Joon SEOK, Ming Chiang A. WU
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to imaging LiDARs with separate transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) optical antennas fed by different optical waveguides. This pair of optical antennas can be activated at the same time through a dual-channel optical switch network, with the Tx antenna connected to a laser source and the Rx antenna connected to a receiver. The Tx and Rx antennas can be positioned adjacent to each other, so they point to approximately the same far-field angle. No optical alignment between the Tx and Rx is necessary. This LiDAR configuration, referred to herein as pseudo-monostatic LiDAR, eliminates spurious reflections and increases the dynamic range of the LiDAR.
Claims21
-20. (canceled)
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) device, comprising:
- a substrate;
- an optical antenna array disposed on the substrate, the optical antenna array comprising a plurality of paired optical antennas each comprising a transmit optical antenna configured to transmit light towards a target and a receive optical antenna configured to receive light from the target;
- and
- a programmable optical network disposed on the substrate and configured to provide a first light path to a selected transmit optical antenna, the programmable optical network being further configured to provide a separate second light path from a receive optical antenna paired to the selected transmit optical antenna.
A method of transmitting and receiving light through a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), comprising:
- controlling a programmable optical network on the PIC to provide a first light path from at least one light emitter to a selected transmit optical antenna of a paired optical antenna of the optical network;
- transmitting light from the selected transmit optical antenna towards a target;
- receiving reflected light from the target with a receive optical antenna that is paired to the selected transmit optical antenna;
- and
- controlling the programmable optical network to provide a separate second light path from the receive optical antenna to at least one light detector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.