Lidar device for scanning measurement of a distance to an object

A LiDAR device for scanning measurement of a distance to an object, wherein the device comprises:

• a photonic integrated circuit comprising a plurality of optical waveguides and a plurality of couplers, wherein each coupler is
• associated with one of the optical waveguides and
• configured to couple light guided in the optical waveguide into free space and/or light propagating in free space into the optical waveguide,
• a collimating optical system configured to collimate light beams emitted by the couplers and/or to focus collimated light beams, and
• a plurality of microlenses, wherein
• each microlens is associated with one of the couplers and
• forms a real or virtual image of the associated coupler, wherein the images of the couplers are arranged in an object field of the collimating optical system,
• wherein
• each coupler has a coupler numerical aperture and the collimating optical system has a collimator numerical aperture which is greater than each of the coupler numerical apertures, and
• wherein
• each microlens has, on a side pointing towards the couplers, a coupler-side numerical aperture, and on a side pointing towards the collimating optical system a collimator-side numerical aperture that is greater than the coupler-side numerical aperture.

A LiDAR device for scanning measurement of a distance to an object, wherein the device comprises:

• a photonic integrated circuit comprising a plurality of optical waveguides and a plurality of couplers, wherein each coupler is
• associated with one of the optical waveguides and
• configured to couple light guided in the optical waveguide into free space and/or light propagating in free space into the optical waveguide,
• a collimating optical system configured to collimate light beams emitted by the couplers and/or to focus collimated light beams, and
• a plurality of microlenses, wherein each microlens
• is associated with one of the couplers,
• forms a real or virtual image of the associated coupler, wherein the images of the couplers are arranged in an object field of the collimating optical system, and
• is configured to transform an input angular light energy distribution produced by the associated coupler into an output angular light energy distribution that is flatter and/or broader than the input angular light energy distribution.