Beam controllers, lidars, and vehicles

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a beam controller, a laser radar, and a vehicle. The beam controller comprises a first liquid crystal cell and a second liquid crystal cell stacked along the direction of laser propagation. The first liquid crystal cell is used to control the deflection of laser light passing through the first liquid crystal cell in a first direction with an adjustable angle, and the second liquid crystal cell is used to control the deflection of laser light passing through the second liquid crystal cell in a second direction with an adjustable angle, the first direction being different from the second direction. The disclosed technical solution enables the design of a pure solid-state laser radar with low cost, simple structure, compact size, and lightweight.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the field of radar technology, and in particular to a beam controller, a laser radar, and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] With the development of laser technology, lidar is increasingly used in fields such as measurement, transportation, driving assistance, drones and mobile robots.

[0003] Currently, the mainstream in the industry are still mechanical lidar and hybrid solid-state lidar. However, the beam controllers of existing lidars generally have high manufacturing costs and complex structures. Some are large in size and mass, which is not conducive to the application of lidar in driver assistance systems, unmanned driving systems, mobile robots, and unmanned aircraft obstacle avoidance and navigation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems or at least partially solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a beam controller, a laser radar and a vehicle.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a light beam controller, comprising a first liquid crystal box and a second liquid crystal box stacked along a laser propagation direction, wherein the first liquid crystal box is used to control the laser light passing through the first liquid crystal box to be deflected in a first direction with an adjustable deflection angle, and the second liquid crystal box is used to control the laser light passing through the second liquid crystal box to be deflected in a second direction with an adjustable deflection angle, wherein the first direction is different from the second direction.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first liquid crystal box includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, a first liquid crystal layer and a first electric field adjustment layer that are stacked together, and the first substrate and the first conductive layer are located on one side of the first liquid crystal layer, the second substrate, the second conductive layer and the first electric field adjustment layer are located on the other side of the first liquid crystal layer, the first electric field adjustment layer is located on the side of the second conductive layer close to the first liquid crystal layer, and the first electric field adjustment layer is used to adjust the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer so that the first liquid crystal layer distributes multiple electric field intensities of different sizes along a third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the first liquid crystal box.

[0007] In some embodiments, the second liquid crystal box includes a stacked third substrate, a fourth substrate, a third conductive layer, a fourth conductive layer, a second liquid crystal layer, and a second electric field adjustment layer, and the third substrate and the third conductive layer are located on one side of the second liquid crystal layer, the fourth substrate, the fourth conductive layer, and the second electric field adjustment layer are located on the other side of the second liquid crystal layer, the second electric field adjustment layer is located on the side of the fourth conductive layer close to the second liquid crystal layer, and the second electric field adjustment layer is used to adjust the electric field strength in the second liquid crystal layer so that the second liquid crystal layer distributes multiple electric field intensities of different sizes along a fourth direction, and the fourth direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the second liquid crystal box.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first liquid crystal box further includes a first alignment layer located on both sides of the first liquid crystal layer and in contact with the first liquid crystal layer, and the second liquid crystal box further includes a second alignment layer located on both sides of the second liquid crystal layer and in contact with the second liquid crystal layer, and the orientation of the first alignment layer is different from the orientation of the second alignment layer.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first electric field adjustment layer has the same thickness at all locations, the first electric field adjustment layer includes a first material layer and a second material layer stacked together, the first material layer and the second material layer have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants, and the thickness of the first material layer varies along the third direction; and / or

[0010] The second electric field adjustment layer has the same thickness at all locations. The second electric field adjustment layer includes a third material layer and a fourth material layer stacked together. The third material layer and the fourth material layer have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants. The thickness of the third material layer varies along the fourth direction.

[0011] In some embodiments, the first material layer includes only a first material, the second material layer includes only a second material, and the first material and the second material are different; or the first material layer includes a first main material and a first dopant material, the second material layer includes a second main material and a second dopant material, the first main material and the second main material are the same, and the first dopant material and the second dopant material are different; and / or

[0012] The third material layer includes only the third material, the fourth material layer includes only the fourth material, and the third material and the fourth material are different; or the third material layer includes a third main material and a third doping material, the fourth material layer includes a fourth main material and a fourth doping material, the third main material and the fourth main material are the same, and the third doping material and the fourth doping material are different.

[0013] In some embodiments, the first electric field adjusting layer and the second electric field adjusting layer have the same structure.

[0014] In some embodiments, the second conductive layer and the fourth conductive layer share a common conductive layer.

[0015] The present disclosure provides a laser radar, including a laser emitter, a laser detector, an adjustable power supply and a beam controller provided by the present disclosure, wherein the laser emitter is used to emit laser light to the beam controller, the laser detector is used to detect the laser light reflected by the detection object after passing through the beam controller, and the adjustable power supply is used to provide an adjustable voltage to the first liquid crystal box and the second liquid crystal box, so that the first liquid crystal box controls the laser light passing through the first liquid crystal box to be deflected in a first direction, and the second liquid crystal box controls the laser light passing through the second liquid crystal box to be deflected in a second direction.

[0016] The present disclosure also provides a vehicle, comprising the laser radar provided by the present disclosure.

[0017] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure has the following advantages over the prior art:

[0018] The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure utilizes a first liquid crystal cell and a second liquid crystal cell stacked along the direction of laser propagation to form a liquid crystal beam controller. As the laser passes through the first and second liquid crystal cells, the first liquid crystal cell is used to control the deflection of the laser in a first direction with an adjustable deflection angle, and the second liquid crystal cell is used to control the deflection of the laser in a second direction with an adjustable deflection angle. Thus, the first and second liquid crystal cells jointly scan the laser light passing through the beam controller in the first and second directions. Thus, the beam controller provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure utilizes a double-layer liquid crystal cell to achieve laser scanning. Furthermore, because the liquid crystal cells do not mechanically move, the beam controller of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be used to design a low-cost, simple, compact, and lightweight pure solid-state laser radar. This facilitates the application of laser radar in driver assistance systems, unmanned driving systems, and obstacle avoidance and navigation for mobile robots and unmanned aircraft. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of a beam controller provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0022] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the first liquid crystal cell provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure deflecting laser light;

[0023] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the specific structure of a beam controller provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the specific structure of another light beam controller provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0025] Figure 5 A schematic structural diagram of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In order to more clearly understand the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of the present disclosure, the scheme of the present disclosure will be further described below. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present disclosure and the features therein can be combined with each other in the absence of conflict.

[0027] In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present disclosure, but the present disclosure may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; it is obvious that the embodiments in the specification are only part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than all of the embodiments.

[0028] Figure 1 FIG1 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a beam controller, which is applied to laser radar. Figure 1 As shown, the beam controller includes a first liquid crystal box 10 and a second liquid crystal box 20 stacked along the laser propagation direction (such as the Y direction). The first liquid crystal box 10 is used to control the laser passing through the first liquid crystal box 10 to be deflected in a first direction (such as the Z direction) and the deflection angle is adjustable. The second liquid crystal box 20 is used to control the laser passing through the second liquid crystal box 20 to be deflected in a second direction (such as the X direction) and the deflection angle is adjustable. The first direction is different from the second direction.

[0029] In the disclosed embodiment, both the first and second liquid crystal cells 10 and 20 include liquid crystal panels (composed of two conductive layers and liquid crystals positioned between them). Applying a voltage to the panels generates an electric field within the space containing the liquid crystals. Under the influence of the electric field, the liquid crystal molecules rotate along the direction of the electric field. Different electric field intensities result in different rotation angles of the liquid crystal molecules, and the refractive index of light polarized in the plane of rotation of the liquid crystal molecules also varies. Therefore, by applying multiple electric field modulations of varying intensities to the first and second liquid crystal cells 10 and 20, the electric field intensities in the first and second liquid crystal cells 10 and 20 vary according to a predetermined pattern with respect to spatial coordinates. As a result, the liquid crystal molecules exhibit a gradient refractive index in the plane of rotation, rotating at different angles in response to the corresponding electric field intensities. This causes laser light to refract within the first and second liquid crystal cells 10 and 20, resulting in laser deflection. Furthermore, by varying the applied voltage, the electric field intensity varies, and the refractive index of the liquid crystal molecules also changes, causing the laser deflection angle to change, thereby achieving laser scanning.

[0030] It should be noted that since the steering of the laser emitted from the beam controller is jointly controlled by the first liquid crystal box 10 and the second liquid crystal box 20, that is, it is jointly determined by the angle of deflection in the first direction and the angle of deflection in the second direction, it is irrelevant to the order of deflection in the first direction and deflection in the second direction. Therefore, there is no need to consider the front and back positions of the stacked settings of the first liquid crystal box 10 and the second liquid crystal box 20.

[0031] In some embodiments, the first direction may be perpendicular to the second direction. For example, the first direction is a horizontal direction and the second direction is a vertical direction, so that the laser can be scanned row by row in the horizontal direction or column by column in the vertical direction.

[0032] In the aforementioned beam controller, a first liquid crystal cell and a second liquid crystal cell are stacked along the direction of laser propagation to form a liquid crystal beam controller. As the laser passes through the first and second liquid crystal cells, the first liquid crystal cell controls the laser's deflection in a first direction with an adjustable deflection angle, and the second liquid crystal cell controls the laser's deflection in a second direction with an adjustable deflection angle. Thus, the first and second liquid crystal cells jointly scan the laser light passing through the beam controller in the first and second directions. Thus, the beam controller provided by the disclosed embodiment utilizes a dual-layer liquid crystal cell to achieve laser scanning. Furthermore, because the liquid crystal cells do not mechanically move, the beam controller of the disclosed embodiment can be used to design a low-cost, simple, compact, and lightweight pure solid-state laser radar. This facilitates the application of laser radar in driver assistance systems, unmanned systems, and obstacle avoidance and navigation for mobile robots and unmanned aircraft.

[0033] Based on the above technical solution, in some embodiments, see Figure 1 The first liquid crystal cell 10 includes a first substrate 11, a second substrate 12, a first conductive layer 13, a second conductive layer 14, a first liquid crystal layer 15, and a first electric field adjustment layer 16, which are stacked together. The first substrate 11 and the first conductive layer 13 are located on one side of the first liquid crystal layer 15, and the second substrate 12, the second conductive layer 14, and the first electric field adjustment layer 16 are located on the other side of the first liquid crystal layer 15. The first electric field adjustment layer 16 is located on a side of the second conductive layer 14 close to the first liquid crystal layer 15. The first electric field adjustment layer 16 is used to adjust the electric field intensity in the first liquid crystal layer 15 so that the first liquid crystal layer 15 is distributed with multiple electric field intensities of different magnitudes along a third direction. The third direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the first liquid crystal cell 10, that is, the third direction is parallel to the XZ plane.

[0034] Specifically, the liquid crystal in the first liquid crystal layer 15 can be a nematic liquid crystal, and the first conductive layer 13 and the second conductive layer 14 constitute electrodes on both sides of the first liquid crystal layer 15. By applying a voltage to the first conductive layer 13 and the second conductive layer 14, an electric field in the Y direction is formed in the first liquid crystal layer 15, so that the liquid crystal molecules in the first liquid crystal layer 15 rotate along the direction of the electric field in the YZ plane (in the initial state, that is, in the power-off state, the long axis of the liquid crystal molecules is parallel to the YZ plane). Optionally, the first conductive layer 13 and the second conductive layer 14 are both transparent conductive layers to improve the transmittance of the laser. Exemplarily, the materials of the first conductive layer 13 and the second conductive layer 14 are both indium tin oxide (ITO). The first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are used to support and protect the film layers located thereon, which is conducive to ensuring the stability of the structure of the first liquid crystal box 10. Optionally, the first substrate 11 and the second substrate 12 are made of polyimide. In addition, the first electric field adjustment layer 16 can adjust the electric field distribution between the first conductive layer 13 and the second conductive layer 14, so that the electric field intensity in the first liquid crystal layer 15 is distributed along the third direction according to a preset rule, and the preset rule can be set according to the change requirement of the refractive index of the first liquid crystal layer 15. For example, Figure 2 As shown, in Figure 1 After a voltage is applied to the first liquid crystal cell 10 shown, the first electric field adjustment layer 16 adjusts the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer 15, causing the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer 15 to gradually decrease along the third direction (negative Z direction). The rotation angle of the liquid crystal molecules gradually decreases along the third direction, and the refractive index of the polarized light on the rotation plane of the liquid crystal molecules (YZ plane) gradually increases along the third direction. As a result, the laser light emitted from the first liquid crystal cell 10 tends to converge in the first direction (Z direction). Figure 2The multiple laser beams emitted from the first liquid crystal cell 10 are deflected toward the negative Z direction, and the deflection angle gradually decreases along the negative Z direction. Therefore, a single laser beam incident on the first liquid crystal cell 10 can be emitted from the first liquid crystal cell 10 as multiple laser beams with different deflection angles. Thus, by adjusting the voltage applied to the first liquid crystal cell 10 once, multiple points in the first direction can be detected simultaneously, reducing the number of scans. By adjusting the voltage applied to the first liquid crystal cell 10 multiple times, the scanning range of the laser beam in the first direction can be changed (increased or decreased). Furthermore, as needed, a first electric field adjustment layer 16 can be provided so that when the laser beams emitted from the first liquid crystal cell 10 tend to converge in the first direction (Z direction), the multiple laser beams emitted are deflected toward the positive Z direction. Alternatively, the first electric field adjustment layer 16 can be provided so that the laser beams emitted from the first liquid crystal cell 10 tend to diverge in the first direction (Z direction), including deflecting the multiple laser beams emitted toward the positive Z direction and / or the negative Z direction.

[0035] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the positional relationship between the first substrate 11 and the first conductive layer 13, the positional relationship between the second substrate 12 and the second conductive layer 14, and the positional relationship between the second substrate 12 and the first electric field adjustment layer 16 in the first liquid crystal cell 10. In some embodiments, the first substrate 11, the first conductive layer 13, the first liquid crystal layer 15, the first electric field adjustment layer 16, the second conductive layer 14, and the second substrate 12 are stacked in sequence. In some embodiments, the first substrate 11, the first conductive layer 13, the first liquid crystal layer 15, the second substrate 12, the first electric field adjustment layer 16, and the second conductive layer 14 are stacked in sequence.

[0036] Similarly, in some embodiments, see Figure 1 The second liquid crystal cell 20 includes a stacked third substrate 21, a fourth substrate 22, a third conductive layer 23, a fourth conductive layer 24, a second liquid crystal layer 25, and a second electric field adjustment layer 26. The third substrate 21 and the third conductive layer 23 are located on one side of the second liquid crystal layer 25, the fourth substrate 22, the fourth conductive layer 24, and the second electric field adjustment layer 26 are located on the other side of the second liquid crystal layer 25, and the second electric field adjustment layer 26 is located on the side of the fourth conductive layer 24 close to the second liquid crystal layer 25. The second electric field adjustment layer 26 is used to adjust the electric field strength in the second liquid crystal layer 25 so that the second liquid crystal layer 25 is distributed with multiple electric field intensities of different sizes along a fourth direction. The fourth direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the second liquid crystal cell 20, that is, the fourth direction is parallel to the XZ plane.

[0037] Specifically, the liquid crystal in the second liquid crystal layer 25 can be a nematic liquid crystal, and the third conductive layer 23 and the fourth conductive layer 24 constitute electrodes on both sides of the second liquid crystal layer 25. By applying a voltage to the third conductive layer 23 and the fourth conductive layer 24, an electric field in the Y direction is formed in the second liquid crystal layer 25, thereby causing the liquid crystal molecules in the second liquid crystal layer 25 to rotate along the direction of the electric field in the XY plane (in the initial state, that is, in the power-off state, the long axis of the liquid crystal molecules is parallel to the XY plane). Optionally, the third conductive layer 23 and the fourth conductive layer 24 are both transparent conductive layers to improve the transmittance of the laser. Exemplarily, the materials of the third conductive layer 23 and the fourth conductive layer 24 are both indium tin oxide (ITO). The third substrate 21 and the fourth substrate 22 are used to support and protect the film layers located thereon, which is conducive to ensuring the stability of the second liquid crystal cell 20 structure. Optionally, the third substrate 21 and the fourth substrate 22 are made of polyimide. Furthermore, the second electric field adjustment layer 26 can adjust the electric field distribution between the third conductive layer 23 and the fourth conductive layer 24, so that the electric field intensity in the second liquid crystal layer 25 is distributed along the fourth direction according to a predetermined pattern. This predetermined pattern can be set based on the desired change in the refractive index of the second liquid crystal layer 25. Similar to the first liquid crystal cell in the above embodiment, the second liquid crystal cell 20 in this embodiment can deflect the laser light in the second direction (X direction). By adjusting the voltage applied to the second liquid crystal cell 20, the laser light can be scanned in the second direction.

[0038] It should be noted that this embodiment does not limit the positional relationship between the third substrate 21 and the third conductive layer 23, the positional relationship between the fourth substrate 22 and the fourth conductive layer 24, and the positional relationship between the fourth substrate 22 and the second electric field adjustment layer 26 in the second liquid crystal cell 20. In some embodiments, the third substrate 21, the third conductive layer 23, the second liquid crystal layer 25, the second electric field adjustment layer 26, the fourth conductive layer 24, and the fourth substrate 22 are stacked in sequence. In some embodiments, the third substrate 21, the third conductive layer 23, the second liquid crystal layer 25, the fourth substrate 22, the second electric field adjustment layer 26, and the fourth conductive layer 24 are stacked in sequence.

[0039] In some embodiments, in order to ensure that the laser is deflected in the first direction and the second direction and to accurately control the deflection angle of the liquid crystal, it is necessary to provide the liquid crystal with an initial orientation after power is turned off. Therefore, the first liquid crystal box also includes a first alignment layer located on both sides of the first liquid crystal layer and in contact with the first liquid crystal layer, and the second liquid crystal box also includes a second alignment layer located on both sides of the second liquid crystal layer and in contact with the second liquid crystal layer, and the orientation of the first alignment layer is different from the orientation of the second alignment layer. The first alignment layer and the second alignment layer can be formed by a polyimide film layer that has been subjected to a grinding process. Optionally, the orientation of the first alignment layer is perpendicular to the orientation of the second alignment layer, so that the rotation plane of the liquid crystal molecules in the first liquid crystal layer is perpendicular to the rotation plane of the liquid crystal molecules in the second liquid crystal layer, thereby achieving scanning of the laser in the first and second directions perpendicular to each other.

[0040] In some embodiments, as Figure 3 As shown, the first electric field adjustment layer has the same thickness at all locations, and the first electric field adjustment layer includes a first material layer 161 and a second material layer 162 that are stacked. The first material layer 161 and the second material layer 162 have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants, and the thickness of the first material layer 161 is different along the third direction; and / or, the second electric field adjustment layer has the same thickness at all locations, and the second electric field adjustment layer includes a third material layer 261 and a fourth material layer 262 that are stacked. The third material layer 261 and the fourth material layer 262 have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants, and the thickness of the third material layer 261 is different along the fourth direction.

[0041] Specifically, by setting the first material layer 161 and the second material layer 162 to have the same refractive index but different dielectric constants, the thickness of the first material layer 161 varies along the third direction. This results in the dielectric constant of the first electric field adjustment layer formed by the first material layer 161 and the second material layer 162 varying along the third direction. Consequently, the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer varies with the dielectric constant of the first electric field adjustment layer. For example, the dielectric constant of the first material layer 161 is less than that of the second material layer 261. As the thickness of the first material layer 161 gradually increases along the third direction, the thickness of the second material layer gradually decreases. In this case, the dielectric constant of the first electric field adjustment layer gradually decreases along the third direction, causing the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer to gradually decrease along the third direction. In this manner, the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer is adjusted. Similarly, a second electric field adjustment layer is formed by a third material layer 261 and a fourth material layer 262. The third material layer 261 and the fourth material layer 262 have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants. Along the fourth direction, the thickness of the third material layer 261 is different, thereby adjusting the electric field strength in the second liquid crystal layer.

[0042] In some embodiments, the voltage applied to the first liquid crystal box and the second liquid crystal box is alternating current. By adjusting the frequency of the alternating current, the dielectric constants of the first material layer 161, the second material layer 162, the third material layer 261 and the fourth material layer 262 can be changed, thereby also changing the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer and the second liquid crystal layer.

[0043] In some embodiments, the first material layer 161 includes only the first material, such as resin, and the second material layer 162 includes only the second material, such as transparent metal, and the first material and the second material are different; or the first material layer 161 includes a first main material and a first doping material, and the second material layer 162 includes a second main material and a second doping material, the first main material and the second main material are the same, and the first doping material and the second doping material are different; and / or, the third material layer 261 includes only the third material, and the fourth material layer 262 includes only the fourth material, and the third material and the fourth material are different; or the third material layer 261 includes a third main material and a third doping material, and the fourth material layer 262 includes a fourth main material and a fourth doping material, the third main material and the fourth main material are the same, and the third doping material and the fourth doping material are different. This embodiment does not limit the first main material, the first dopant material, the second main material, the second dopant material, the third main material, the third dopant material, the fourth main material and the fourth dopant material, as long as the light transmittance of each material is high and the formed first material layer 161 and the second material layer 162 meet the requirements of the same refractive index and different dielectric constants, and the third material layer 261 and the fourth material layer 262 meet the requirements of the same refractive index and different dielectric constants.

[0044] In some embodiments, the first and second electric field adjustment layers have the same structure. This allows the first and second electric field adjustment layers to be made from the same material, and the thickness variations of the corresponding material layers for the first and second electric field adjustment layers are the same. This simplifies the selection of constituent materials and reduces the difficulty of material configuration. Furthermore, the first and second electric field adjustment layers can be made using the same process parameters, reducing the difficulty of making the first and second electric field adjustment layers.

[0045] In some embodiments, the second conductive layer and the fourth conductive layer share a common conductive layer. In this way, the thickness of the conductive layer can be reduced, thereby reducing the thickness of the entire beam controller. Figure 4As shown, the second conductive layer and the fourth conductive layer share a conductive layer 34. The first substrate 11, the first conductive layer 13, the first liquid crystal layer 15, the second substrate 12, the first electric field adjustment layer 16, the conductive layer 34, the second electric field adjustment layer 26, the fourth substrate 22, the second liquid crystal layer 25, the third conductive layer 23, and the third substrate 21 are stacked in sequence. Optionally, the film structure of the first electric field adjustment layer 16 and the film structure of the second electric field adjustment layer 26 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the conductive layer 34. Alternatively, the second substrate 12 and the fourth substrate 22 can share a single substrate to reduce the thickness of the beam controller.

[0046] Based on the above embodiments, the present disclosure provides a laser radar. Figure 5 Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a laser radar. Figure 5 As shown, the laser radar includes a laser emitter 1, a laser detector 2, an adjustable power supply (not shown in the figure) and a beam controller 3 provided in each embodiment of the present disclosure. The laser emitter 1 is used to emit laser light to the beam controller 3, the laser detector 2 is used to detect the laser light reflected by the detection object 4 after passing through the beam controller 3, and the adjustable power supply is used to provide an adjustable voltage to the first liquid crystal box and the second liquid crystal box, so that the first liquid crystal box controls the laser light passing through the first liquid crystal box to be deflected in the first direction, and the second liquid crystal box controls the laser light passing through the second liquid crystal box to be deflected in the second direction.

[0047] In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a vehicle, which includes the laser radar provided by the above embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the vehicle can be an unmanned vehicle or a manned vehicle.

[0048] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article, or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device comprising the element.

[0049] The foregoing description is intended only to provide specific embodiments of the present disclosure, intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but rather to be construed in the broadest manner consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A beam controller, characterized in that: The device comprises a first liquid crystal cell and a second liquid crystal cell stacked along a laser propagation direction, wherein the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal cell and the second liquid crystal cell varies with the spatial coordinates according to a set rule, and the liquid crystal molecules rotate at different angles corresponding to the electric field strength, thereby exhibiting a gradient refractive index on the rotation plane; The first liquid crystal box is used to control the laser passing through the first liquid crystal box to deflect in a first direction with an adjustable deflection angle, and the second liquid crystal box is used to control the laser passing through the second liquid crystal box to deflect in a second direction with an adjustable deflection angle, and the first direction is different from the second direction.

2. The beam controller according to claim 1, wherein: The first liquid crystal box includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a first conductive layer, a second conductive layer, a first liquid crystal layer, and a first electric field adjustment layer, which are stacked together. The first substrate and the first conductive layer are located on one side of the first liquid crystal layer, the second substrate, the second conductive layer, and the first electric field adjustment layer are located on the other side of the first liquid crystal layer, and the first electric field adjustment layer is located on a side of the second conductive layer close to the first liquid crystal layer. The first electric field adjustment layer is used to adjust the electric field strength in the first liquid crystal layer so that the first liquid crystal layer distributes multiple electric field intensities of different sizes along a third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the first liquid crystal box.

3. The beam controller according to claim 2, wherein: The second liquid crystal box includes a third substrate, a fourth substrate, a third conductive layer, a fourth conductive layer, a second liquid crystal layer, and a second electric field adjustment layer that are stacked together, wherein the third substrate and the third conductive layer are located on one side of the second liquid crystal layer, the fourth substrate, the fourth conductive layer, and the second electric field adjustment layer are located on the other side of the second liquid crystal layer, the second electric field adjustment layer is located on a side of the fourth conductive layer close to the second liquid crystal layer, and the second electric field adjustment layer is used to adjust the electric field strength in the second liquid crystal layer so that the second liquid crystal layer is distributed with multiple electric field intensities of different sizes along a fourth direction, and the fourth direction is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the second liquid crystal box.

4. The beam controller according to claim 3, wherein: The first liquid crystal box further includes a first alignment layer located on both sides of the first liquid crystal layer and in contact with the first liquid crystal layer, and the second liquid crystal box further includes a second alignment layer located on both sides of the second liquid crystal layer and in contact with the second liquid crystal layer, and the orientation of the first alignment layer is different from the orientation of the second alignment layer.

5. The beam controller according to claim 3, wherein: The first electric field adjustment layer has the same thickness at all locations, the first electric field adjustment layer includes a first material layer and a second material layer stacked together, the first material layer and the second material layer have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants, and the thickness of the first material layer varies along the third direction; and / or The second electric field adjustment layer has the same thickness at all locations. The second electric field adjustment layer includes a third material layer and a fourth material layer stacked together. The third material layer and the fourth material layer have the same refractive index and different dielectric constants. The thickness of the third material layer varies along the fourth direction.

6. The beam controller according to claim 5, wherein: The first material layer includes only a first material, the second material layer includes only a second material, and the first material and the second material are different; or the first material layer includes a first main material and a first dopant material, the second material layer includes a second main material and a second dopant material, the first main material and the second main material are the same, and the first dopant material and the second dopant material are different; and / or The third material layer includes only the third material, the fourth material layer includes only the fourth material, and the third material and the fourth material are different; or the third material layer includes a third main material and a third doping material, the fourth material layer includes a fourth main material and a fourth doping material, the third main material and the fourth main material are the same, and the third doping material and the fourth doping material are different.

7. The light beam controller according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that: The first electric field adjustment layer and the second electric field adjustment layer have the same structure.

8. The beam controller according to claim 3, wherein: The second conductive layer and the fourth conductive layer share a common conductive layer.

9. A laser radar, characterized in that: The invention comprises a laser emitter, a laser detector, an adjustable power supply and a beam controller according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the laser emitter is used to emit laser light to the beam controller, the laser detector is used to detect the laser light reflected by the detection object after passing through the beam controller, and the adjustable power supply is used to provide an adjustable voltage to the first liquid crystal box and the second liquid crystal box, so that the electric field intensity in the first liquid crystal box and the second liquid crystal box changes with the spatial coordinates according to a set rule, and the liquid crystal molecules exhibit a gradient refractive index on the rotation plane as they rotate at different angles corresponding to the electric field intensity, so that the first liquid crystal box controls the laser light passing through the first liquid crystal box to be deflected in a first direction, and the second liquid crystal box controls the laser light passing through the second liquid crystal box to be deflected in a second direction.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: Including the laser radar as described in claim 9.

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