Optical scanner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12189116-B2
Application number	US-202117304871-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2021
Priority date	Jul 1, 2020
Publication date	Jan 7, 2025
Grant date	Jan 7, 2025

Abstract

A scanner provided with a plurality of elementary scanners, especially two elementary scanners, referred to as a first and second scanner respectively. In particular, the first scanner and the second scanner are arranged to scan, each with an optical beam, respectively, a first surface and a second surface included in the first surface and of a smaller extent than the latter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical scanner which comprises:
an optical source capable of emitting a main optical beam;
at least two elementary scanners, referred to as first and second scanners respectively, and which comprise:
a first and a second beam provided, respectively, with a first and a second movable part on the one hand, and a first and a second fixed parts on the other hand;
a first and a second actuator arranged to deform, respectively, the first and the second movable parts; and
a first and a second optical phased array disposed on or in the first and the second movable parts, respectively, and at which the main optical beam is partly extracted, as a first and a second beam, respectively;
the first and second scanners being arranged to scan, along a first and a second direction, by means of the first and second beams, respectively, a first and a second surface, the second surface being of smaller extent than the first surface and included in the first surface.

2. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second movable parts are arranged to undergo deformation, respectively, of a first and a second amplitude, the second amplitude being strictly smaller than the first amplitude.

3. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first movable part has a first thickness greater than a second thickness of the second movable part.

4. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first movable part has a first length smaller than a second length of the second beam.

5. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first movable part has a first resonant vibration frequency greater than a second resonant vibration frequency of the second movable part.

6. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second scanners comprise, respectively, a first and a second plurality of waveguides disposed on or in, respectively, the first and second movable parts, each of the plurality of waveguides configured to split the main optical beam into, respectively, a first and a second plurality of secondary optical beams.

7. The optical scanner according to claim 6 , wherein the first plurality of waveguides comprises a smaller number of waveguides than that of the second plurality of waveguides.

8. The optical scanner according to claim 6 , wherein the first and second optical phased arrays comprise, respectively, a first and second plurality of optical phase shifters, each optical phase shifter of the first and second pluralities of optical phase shifters being coupled to a waveguide, respectively, of the first and second pluralities of waveguides, and the second optical phased array comprises a greater number of optical phase shifters than the first optical phased array.

9. The optical scanner according to claim 8 , wherein each optical phase shifter comprises a diffraction grating coupled to phase shifting means for imposing a phase shift to the secondary optical beam from the waveguide to which the optical phase shifter under consideration is optically coupled.

10. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second optical phased arrays are arranged to impose scanning of the first and second surfaces, respectively, by the first and second beams, respectively, along the second direction according to a first and a second range of lateral angles, respectively, the first range of lateral angles having a greater extent than that of the second range of lateral angles.

11. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second beams each comprises, from a front face to a rear face, a front layer, an intermediate layer and a rear layer.

12. The optical scanner according to claim 11 , wherein the front layer and the rear layer each comprises a dielectric material.

13. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second actuators each comprises at least one of means selected from: electrostatic means, magnetic means, piezoelectric means, and thermal means.

14. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the optical scanner also comprises a support on a main face of which the first and second beams rest through the first and second fixed parts.

15. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and the second actuator are arranged to impose flexion, respectively, to the first and the second movable parts.

16. The optical scanner according to claim 1 , wherein the first and the second actuator are arranged to impose torsion, respectively, to the first and the second movable parts.

17. The optical scanner according to claim 15 , wherein the first and second beams are arranged such that the flexion of the first and second beams allows the first and second beams to scan, respectively, the first and second surfaces along the first direction, according to, respectively, a first and second range of longitudinal angles, the first range of longitudinal angles having a greater extent than the second range of longitudinal angles.

18. The optical scanner according to claim 15 , wherein the first and second actuators are arranged such that the flexion imposed to both the first and second movable parts in made in a plane perpendicular to a main face of the first and second beams respectively.

Assignees

• Commissariat Energie Atomique

Inventors

• Mollard Laurent
• Dieppedale Christel
• Fanget Stéphane
• Fowler Daivid
• Hue Jean

Classifications

• G02B6/10

  of the optical waveguide type (G02B6/02, G02B6/24 take precedence; devices or arrangements for the control of light by electric, magnetic, electro-magnetic or acoustic means G02F1/00; transferring the modulation of modulated light G02F2/00; optical logic elements G02F3/00; optical analogue/digital converters G02F7/00) · CPC title

• G02B27/4233

  having a diffractive element [DOE] contributing to a non-imaging application (diffusers having a diffractive element G02B5/0252; filters having a diffractive element G02B5/203; systems for controlling the direction of light having diffractive elements G02B26/0808; scanning systems having diffractive elements G02B26/106; beam shaping systems using diffractive optical elements G02B27/0944; beam splitting or combining systems operating by diffraction G02B27/1086) · CPC title

• G02B26/106

  having diffraction gratings as scanning elements, e.g. holographic scanners (holographic optical elements G02B5/32, holography G03H) · CPC title

• G02B26/103

  having movable or deformable optical fibres, light guides or waveguides as scanning elements (light guides per se G02B6/00) · CPC title

• G02B26/101 Primary

  with both horizontal and vertical deflecting means, e.g. raster or XY scanners (colour television using laser beams scanning a display screen H04N9/3129) · CPC title