Single chip lidar with discrete beam steering by digital micromirror device

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Sensor Technology
• Digital Systems Engineering

Background:

• Traditional light detection and ranging (lidar) systems often face limitations in field of view and rely on complex or expensive beam steering mechanisms.
• Achieving reliable, wide-field-of-view lidar on a single chip requires innovative approaches to beam manipulation and detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel beam steering method for lidar using a digital micromirror device (DMD).
• To demonstrate the capability of this method for achieving a large field of view and reliable single-chip lidar operation.
• To evaluate the performance metrics including distance accuracy, field of view, and measurement rate.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a mass-produced digital micromirror device (DMD) to create a programmable blazed grating by freezing micromirror rotation during transition.
• Employing a short-pulsed 905nm laser and a silicon avalanche diode for time-of-flight measurements.
• Demonstrating beam steering across five discrete angles.

Main Results:

• Achieved a distance accuracy of less than 1 cm over a 1-meter range.
• Demonstrated a full field of view of 48 degrees.
• Reached a measurement rate of 3.34k points per second.

Conclusions:

• The novel DMD-based beam steering method enables a large field of view and reliable single-chip lidar.
• The technique efficiently redistributes light using a programmable blazed grating, enhancing lidar performance.
• The demonstrated accuracy, field of view, and measurement rate show significant potential for advanced lidar applications.