Beam steering method and device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11726250-B2
Application number	US-202017101935-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 23, 2020
Priority date	Aug 30, 2017
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

A beam steering method and device are provided. The beam steering method includes outputting, from a hologram recording medium on which a plurality of signal light beams having different steering information are recorded, signal light beam having specific steering information, by making reference light having a specific characteristic incident on the hologram recording medium. The method further includes obtaining information about an object existing in the external environment based on the output signal light.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A beam steering method comprising:
making first reference light, having a first characteristic, incident on a hologram recording medium on which signal light is holographically recorded, wherein the signal light comprises a first signal light group comprising a plurality of first signal light beams having first steering information and recorded using the first reference light and a second signal light group comprising a plurality of second signal light beams having second steering information, different from the first steering information and recorded using a second reference light, based on the first reference light incident on the hologram recording medium, outputting, to an external environment, the first signal light group comprising the plurality of first signal light beams, and determining a target region in the external environment within which an object exists using the output first signal light group; and
subsequent to the determining of the target region, making the second reference light, having a second characteristic different from the first characteristic, incident on the hologram recording medium, thereby outputting, to the target region, the second signal light group comprising the plurality of second signal light beams to obtain information about the object that exists in the target region.

2. The beam steering method of claim 1 , wherein an output direction of each of the first signal light beams varies according to the first characteristic of the first reference light.

3. The beam steering method of claim 1 , wherein the first characteristic and the second characteristic each comprise at least one of a wavelength and a phase of light.

4. The beam steering method of claim 1 , wherein the information about the object comprises at least one of an absence or a presence of the object, a position of the object, and distance information about the object.

5. The beam steering method of claim 1 , wherein the hologram recording medium is configured to output at least one of:
the first signal light group comprising the plurality of first signal light beams having divergence angles greater than a reference angle, and
the second signal light group comprising the plurality of second signal light beams having divergence angles less than the reference angle.

6. The beam steering method of claim 5 , wherein the outputting the first signal light group comprises scanning the external environment by outputting the plurality of first signal light beams included in the first signal light group in different output directions.

7. The beam steering method of claim 5 , wherein the outputting the first signal light group comprises sequentially outputting, one by one, the plurality of first signal light beams included in the first signal light group.

8. The beam steering method of claim 5 , wherein the outputting the second signal light group comprises scanning the target region by outputting the plurality of second signal light beams included in the second signal light group in different output directions.

9. The beam steering method of claim 8 , further comprising obtaining distance information about the object using the output second signal light group.

10. A beam steering device comprising:
a light source configured to output reference light comprising first reference light having a first characteristic and second reference light having a second characteristic, different from the first characteristic;
a hologram recording medium on which signal light is holographically recorded, wherein the signal light comprises a first signal light group comprising a plurality of first signal light beams and having first steering information and recorded using the first reference light and a second signal light group comprising a plurality of second signal light beams and having second steering information and recorded using the second reference light; and
a processor configured to obtain information about an object existing in an external environment based on the signal light,
wherein the hologram recording medium is configured to scan the external environment by outputting, to the external environment, the first signal light group having the first steering information at a divergence angle corresponding to the first characteristic of the first reference light when the first reference light is made incident on the hologram recording medium,
wherein the processor is further configured to determine a target region in the external environment within which the object exists using the output first signal light group, and
wherein subsequent to the determining of the target region, the processor is further configured to control the light source to make the second reference light incident on the hologram recording medium, thereby outputting, to the target region, the second signal light group to obtain information about the object that exists in the target region.

11. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein an output direction of each of the first signal light beams varies according to the first characteristic of the first reference light.

12. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein the hologram recording medium is further configured to output the second signal light group having the second steering information when the second reference light is made incident on the hologram recording medium.

13. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein the first characteristic and the second characteristic each comprise at least one of a wavelength and a phase of light.

14. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein the first steering information and the second steering information each comprise at least one of an output direction and a divergence angle.

15. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein the hologram recording medium is configured to output at least one of:
the first signal light group comprising the plurality of first signal light beams having divergence angles greater than a reference angle, and
the second signal light group comprising the plurality of second signal light beams having divergence angles less than the reference angle.

16. The beam steering device of claim 15 , wherein the hologram recording medium is configured to output the plurality of first signal light beams in different output directions.

17. The beam steering device of claim 15 , wherein the processor is further configured to obtain distance information about the object based on the second signal light group.

18. The beam steering device of claim 10 , wherein the information about the object comprises at least one of an absence or a presence of the object, a position of the object, and distance information about the object.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
• Univ Leland Stanford Junior

Inventors

• Joo Wonjae
• Brongersma Mark L
• Park Junghyun

Classifications

• G02B5/32 Primary

  Holograms used as optical elements · CPC title

• G02B6/2931

  Diffractive element operating in reflection · CPC title

• G02F1/292 Primary

  by controlled diffraction or phased-array beam steering (controlled diffraction for optical switching G02F1/31) · CPC title

• G03H1/26

  Processes or apparatus specially adapted to produce multiple {sub-} holograms or to obtain images from them, e.g. multicolour technique · CPC title

• G03H1/2645

  Multiplexing processes, e.g. aperture, shift, or wavefront multiplexing · CPC title