Improved lidar imaging device

A Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) device to image a three dimensional environment (Obj) comprising:

• a laser source (SL) adapted to emit an incident laser beam (LI) presenting a wavelength λ and illuminating said three dimensional environment thus forming a reflected laser beam (LR);
• an array (AM) of N>1 metalenses (ML1-MLN), each adapted to collect a respective portion, called a sub-beam, of the reflected laser beam (LR) and to focus it onto a same focal plane;
• a photodetector (DT) disposed in said focal plane to detect said sub-beams and comprising at least N pixels noted P1 to PN, wherein each i-th metalens (MLi), i=1 . . . N is adapted to focus the respective sub-beam (SBi) onto a respective pixel Pi only when said respective sub beam is incident onto said metalens within a predetermined range [Δθi, Δφi] of incident angles centered on a respective pair of optimal incident angle [θopt,i;
• φopt,i] different from and not overlapping with the predetermined ranges of optimal incident angle associated to other metalenses [Δθj, Δφj], j≠i, j=1 . . . N;
• a scanning element (SE) adapted to induce a plurality of controllable shifts of a direction of propagation of said incident laser beam (LI) onto said three dimensional environment;
• a processing unit (PU) connected to the photodetector and the scanning element and configured to acquire an image with the photodetector for each controllable shift induced by the scanning element.