Techniques for alignment of target and local oscillator beams to photodiode detector
AssigneeAeva, Inc.
InventorsKevin Larson Pollock, Adrian Cort, Keith Gagne, Bradley Scot Levin
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Abstract
A method of aligning an optical lens in a LiDAR system includes emitting an optical beam by an optical source. The method moving an optical lens to a plurality of Z-positions along a direction of an optical axis, the plurality of Z-positions corresponding to a plurality of parameter values of the LO signal. The method includes determining a final Z-position of the optical lens by adding an offset to an initial Z-axis position.
Claims20
A method of aligning an optical lens in a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, comprising:
- emitting an optical beam by an optical source;
- generating a local oscillator (LO) signal based on the optical beam;
- moving the optical lens to a plurality of Z-positions along a direction of an optical axis, the plurality of Z-positions corresponding to a plurality of parameter values of the LO signal;
- determining an initial Z-axis position of the optical lens by selecting a Z-position from the plurality of Z-positions based on the plurality of parameter values;
- determining a final Z-position of the optical lens by adding an offset to the initial Z-axis position;
- and
- aligning the optical lens based on the final Z-position.
A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, comprising:
- a processor;
- and
- a memory to store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the LiDAR system to:
- emit an optical beam by an optical source;
- generate a local oscillator (LO) signal based on the optical beam;
- move the optical lens to a plurality of Z-positions along a direction of an optical axis, the plurality of Z-positions corresponding to a plurality of parameter values of the LO signal;
- determine an initial Z-axis position of the optical lens by selecting a Z-position from the plurality of Z-positions based on the plurality of parameter values;
- determine a final Z-position of the optical lens by adding an offset to the initial Z-axis position;
- and
- align the optical lens based on the final Z-position.
A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, comprising:
- an optical source to emit an optical beam;
- a local oscillator (LO) to generate an LO signal based on the optical beam;
- a photodetector to receive the LO signal and a target return signal;
- a circuitry;
- and
- a memory to store instructions that, when executed by the circuitry, cause the LiDAR system to:
- move the optical lens to a plurality of Z-positions along a direction of an optical axis, the plurality of Z-positions corresponding to a plurality of parameter values of the LO signal;
- determine an initial Z-axis position of the optical lens by selecting a Z-position from the plurality of Z-positions based on the plurality of parameter values;
- determine a final Z-position of the optical lens by adding an offset to the initial Z-axis position;
- and
- align the optical lens based on the final Z-position to improve an accuracy of at least one of range or velocity information of a target.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.