Integrated optical structures for LiDAR and other applications employing multiple detectors

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11619718-B2
Application number	US-202117557401-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2021
Priority date	Jun 15, 2017
Publication date	Apr 4, 2023
Grant date	Apr 4, 2023

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure describe systems, methods, and structures—including LiDAR—that employ multiple detectors that may determine multiple incident angles of multiple received radiation beams and advantageously do not require or employ phase shifters in illustrative embodiments and may instead—employ optical Fourier transform structures.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical device comprising:
an emitter structure configured to emit optical radiation into an interrogation region;
a plurality of collector structures configured to collect the emitted optical radiation, backscattered from objects located in the interrogation region;
an optical Fourier transform structure that projects a Fourier transform of the collected optical radiation from two or more of the plurality of collector structures; and
a plurality of receiver structures, each receiver structure configured to receive a portion of the transformed optical radiation.

2. The optical device according to claim 1 wherein the Fourier transform structure is configured to impart a focusing phase front on the collected backscattered optical radiation.

3. The optical device according to claim 2 wherein the Fourier transform structure is configured to impart a hyperbolic phase front on the collected backscattered optical radiation.

4. The optical device according to claim 2 wherein the Fourier transform structure includes a slab waveguide.

5. The optical device according to claim 4 wherein the Fourier transform structure includes a planar lens, formed on a surface of the slab waveguide wherein said planar lens imparts the focusing phase front.

6. The optical device according to claim 2 wherein the Fourier transform structure includes a waveguide-based lens that imparts the focusing phase front.

7. The optical device according to claim 6 wherein the focusing phase front is imparted by at least one waveguide characteristic selected from the group consisting of: waveguide path length, waveguide material, waveguide geometry, and actively induced index change.

8. The optical device according to claim 2 further including a propagation region after the impart of the focusing phase front wherein a length of the propagation region is at least as long as the focusing length of the phase front.

9. The optical device according to claim 1 wherein the Fourier transform structure includes a plurality of input waveguides, a plurality of output waveguides, and a slab waveguide interposed between the input waveguides and the output waveguides wherein each individual one of the input waveguides is respectively coupled to an individual one of the plurality of collector structures and each individual one of the output waveguides is respectively coupled to an individual one of the receiver structures.

10. The optical device according to claim 9 wherein the Fourier transform structure is configured to impart a focusing phase front on the collected backscattered optical radiation.

11. The optical device according to claim 10 wherein the Fourier transform structure includes a planar lens formed on a surface of the slab waveguide.

12. The optical device according to claim 10 wherein the Fourier transform structure includes a waveguide-based lens that imparts the focusing phase front.

13. The optical device according to claim 12 wherein the focusing phase front is imparted by at least one waveguide characteristic selected from the group consisting of: waveguide path length, waveguide material, waveguide geometry, and actively induced index change.

14. The optical device according to claim 9 wherein the Fourier transform structure is configured to impart a hyperbolic phase front on the collected backscattered optical radiation.

Assignees

• Analog Photonics LLC

Inventors

• Hosseini Ehsan
• Watts Michael
• Poulton Christopher
• Byrd Matthew
• Vermeulen Diedrik
• Russo Peter

Classifications

• G01S7/4814

  of transmitters alone · CPC title

• G01S17/34

  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 · CPC title

• G01S7/4816

  of receivers alone · CPC title

• G01S17/42 Primary

  Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S17/46) · CPC title

• G01S7/4817

  relating to scanning · CPC title