Coherent solid-state LIDAR with silicon photonic optical phased arrays

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Engineering
• Solid-State Physics

Background:

• Traditional Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems often rely on bulky mechanical components, limiting their miniaturization and cost-effectiveness.
• Silicon photonics offers a promising platform for integrating complex optical functions onto a single chip, enabling compact and scalable photonic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the first coherent solid-state Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system integrated onto a silicon photonics platform.
• To develop and validate an on-chip system capable of simultaneous distance and velocity measurements.
• To showcase the potential for low-cost, compact LIDAR technology through integrated optical phased arrays.

Main Methods:

• Development of an integrated transmitting and receiving frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) circuit for on-chip ranging.
• Implementation of triangular frequency modulation for simultaneous distance and velocity measurements.
• Integration of transmitting and receiving optical phased arrays for on-chip beam collimation and solid-state beam steering.
• Utilization of a cascaded optical phase shifter architecture for simplified system control.
• Fabrication of the system on a 300 mm wafer CMOS-compatible platform.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of on-chip ranging capabilities using the integrated FMCW circuit.
• Accurate simultaneous measurement of both distance and velocity using triangular frequency modulation.
• Validation of solid-state beam steering and ranging measurements with integrated optical phased arrays.
• Achieved a compact device design through a cascaded optical phase shifter architecture.
• Fabrication compatibility with standard 300 mm wafer CMOS processes.

Conclusions:

• This work presents the first coherent solid-state LIDAR system on a silicon photonics chip.
• The integrated system enables compact, low-cost LIDAR solutions with simultaneous distance and velocity sensing.
• The developed technology has the potential to disrupt the field of LIDAR, enabling widespread adoption in various applications.