Switching circuit, emission module, detection device and electronic equipment of light source chip

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of optics. The present application provides a switch circuit, an emission module, a detection device and an electronic device of a light source chip. The light source chip includes a plurality of light-emitting units arranged in a two-dimensional array, and a plurality of light-emitting units arranged along a first direction is defined as a light-emitting unit group. A plurality of different light-emitting unit groups are arranged in sequence along a second direction. The switch circuit includes a plurality of first switch groups corresponding to the plurality of light-emitting unit groups, each of which includes at least two first switches connected in parallel with each other; at least one second switch; each of the light-emitting units includes an anode and a cathode, and each first switch of the first switch group is connected to the anode of at least one light-emitting unit in one of the light-emitting unit groups corresponding to the first switch group, and each second switch connects the cathode of at least one light-emitting unit in one of the light-emitting unit groups. The present application aims to solve the technical problem of high cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of optics, and in particular refers to a switch circuit, an emission module, a detection device and an electronic device of a light source chip. Background Art

[0002] Laser radar generally transmits high-frequency sensing light pulses to the measurement scene through the transmitting module for distance sensing. In some usage scenarios, when the area array laser radar needs to control the light-emitting units located at different positions in the light-emitting unit array arranged in two dimensions of the transmitting module to continuously emit high-frequency sensing light pulses in corresponding different time periods, a slow switch is usually used to continuously connect one pole of a group of multiple light-emitting units in the corresponding time period, and a fast switch is used to quickly switch the connection and disconnection with the other pole of the light-emitting unit in the corresponding time period to emit high-frequency sensing light pulses. However, in this case, a relatively high-cost fast switch needs to be configured for each of the multiple light-emitting units in the same group connected to the same slow switch, which will increase the production cost of the product. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a switch circuit, an emission module, a detection device and an electronic device of a light source chip to solve the technical problem in the prior art that a large number of high-speed grounding switches are used, resulting in high costs.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted in this application is:

[0005] In a first aspect, a switch circuit of a light source chip is provided, the switch circuit being configured to connect a light source chip with an external power supply, the light source chip comprising a plurality of light-emitting units arranged in a two-dimensional array, the plurality of light-emitting units arranged along a first direction being defined as a light-emitting unit group, a plurality of different light-emitting unit groups being arranged in sequence along a second direction, the second direction being orthogonal to the first direction, the switch circuit comprising: a plurality of first switch groups arranged one-to-one with the plurality of light-emitting unit groups, each of the first switch groups comprising at least two first switches connected in parallel with each other; and at least one second switch, the switching frequency of the second switch being higher than the switching frequency of the first switch; wherein each of the light-emitting units comprises an anode and a cathode, each first switch of the first switch group being configured to be connected to the anode of at least one light-emitting unit in one of the light-emitting unit groups corresponding to the first switch group, and each second switch being configured to be connected to the cathode of at least one light-emitting unit in one of the light-emitting unit groups; a power port being configured to be externally connected to a power supply, the anodes of the plurality of light-emitting units being respectively connected to the power port through the corresponding first switches; and a ground port being configured to be externally grounded, the cathodes of the plurality of light-emitting units being connected to the ground port through the corresponding second switches.

[0006] The technical solution provided by the present embodiment has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art: the anodes of the respective light-emitting units in the same light-emitting unit group are connected to a first switch group including at least two first switches connected in parallel and corresponding to the light-emitting unit group, and the cathodes of the respective light-emitting units in the same light-emitting unit group are connected to at least one second switch connected in parallel and corresponding to the light-emitting unit group, and the number of second switches used is reduced by increasing the number of first switches connected in parallel to the corresponding first switch group, thereby reducing the production cost and achieving the same effect.

[0007] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the maximum number of light-emitting units that can be independently controlled to emit light in each light-emitting unit group is the product of the number of the first switches and the number of the second switches in a first switch group corresponding to the light-emitting unit group.

[0008] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the number of light-emitting units in each light-emitting unit group that can be controlled to emit light simultaneously is the number of light-emitting units respectively connected to the same second switch and the same first switch.

[0009] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the number of the first switches in the same first switch group is the same as the number of the light-emitting units in the corresponding light-emitting unit group, so that each of the first switches in the first switch group can be electrically connected to the anode of each of the light-emitting units in the corresponding light-emitting unit group one by one; the cathode of each of the light-emitting units in the same light-emitting unit group is electrically connected to the same second switch.

[0010] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the switching circuit includes multiple second switches; each of the first switches in the same first switch group is electrically connected to the anode of at least one of the light-emitting units in the corresponding light-emitting unit group; and multiple light-emitting units in a light-emitting unit group connected to the same first switch are connected to different second switches.

[0011] In an embodiment provided in the present application, each of the first switches in the same first switch group is electrically connected to the anodes of at least two of the light-emitting units in the corresponding light-emitting unit group; the cathodes of the light-emitting units connected to the same first switch in one of the light-emitting unit groups are electrically connected to the same second switch, and at least two of the light-emitting units connected to the same first switch in one of the light-emitting unit groups are arranged alternately with the light-emitting units connected to other first switches.

[0012] In one embodiment provided in the present application, the light-emitting unit is a vertical cavity surface emitting laser; or, the light-emitting unit is an edge emitting laser; or, the light-emitting unit is a light-emitting diode; or, the light-emitting unit is a laser diode; or, the light-emitting unit is a fiber laser.

[0013] In one embodiment provided in the present application, the first switch is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor switch.

[0014] In an embodiment provided in the present application, the second switch is a gallium nitride switch.

[0015] In a second aspect, the present application provides an emission module, which is configured to emit a sensing light beam to a preset detection range to perform distance sensing on objects within the detection range, the emission module comprising: a light source chip, comprising a plurality of light-emitting units arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein a plurality of light-emitting units arranged along a first direction are defined as a light-emitting unit group, and a plurality of different light-emitting unit groups are arranged in sequence along a second direction, wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction; and a switching circuit of the light source chip in any of the above embodiments.

[0016] Since the transmitting module adopts the switch circuit described in any one of the above embodiments, it has at least the beneficial effects of the above embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0017] In an embodiment provided in the present application, a plurality of the light-emitting units in a light-emitting unit group connected to the same second switch are respectively connected to the corresponding second switch through a plurality of different connection ports correspondingly arranged on the light source chip.

[0018] In an embodiment provided in the present application, a plurality of the light-emitting units in a light-emitting unit group connected to the same second switch are connected to the corresponding second switch through a common connection port correspondingly provided on the light source chip.

[0019] In the third aspect, the present application provides a photoelectric detection device, including the transmitting module described in the above embodiment, and the photoelectric detection device also includes a receiving module and a processing module, the receiving module is configured to sense light signals from a detection range and output corresponding light sensing signals, and the processing module is configured to analyze and process the light sensing signals to perform distance detection within the detection range.

[0020] Since the above-mentioned photoelectric detection device adopts the emission module described in any of the above-mentioned embodiments, it has at least the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides an electronic device, comprising the photoelectric detection device described in the above embodiment, the electronic device also comprising an application module, and the application module is configured to implement corresponding functions according to the detection results of the photoelectric detection device.

[0022] Since the electronic device mentioned above adopts the photoelectric detection device described in any one of the above embodiments, it has at least the beneficial effects of the above embodiments, which will not be described one by one here.

[0023] In one embodiment provided in the present application, the photoelectric detection device is a laser radar, the electronic device is a car, and the laser radar is installed on the car to detect distance information of objects within a preset range around the car. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the connection relationship between the switch circuit, the power supply and the light source chip in one embodiment provided in the present application;

[0026] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of partial circuit connection relationships of a switch circuit in an embodiment provided in the present application;

[0027] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of partial circuit connection relationships of a switch circuit in an embodiment provided in the present application;

[0028] Figure 4 One of the ways of the connection relationship diagram of a switch circuit controlling groups of light-emitting units to emit light simultaneously in an embodiment provided in the present application;

[0029] Figure 5 A second way of a schematic diagram of a connection relationship in which a switch circuit controls each light-emitting unit to emit light independently in an embodiment provided in the present application;

[0030] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the connection relationship of the switch circuit grouping and controlling each light-emitting unit in an embodiment provided in the present application;

[0031] Figure 7 for Figure 5 A schematic diagram of connecting the light emitting units with a common cathode in the circuit outside the light source chip;

[0032] Figure 8 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of connecting the light emitting units with a common cathode in the circuit outside the light source chip;

[0033] Fig. 9 for Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the connection of each light emitting unit with a common cathode in the circuit inside the light source chip;

[0034] Fig.10 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the connection of each light emitting unit with a common cathode in the circuit inside the light source chip;

[0035] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device in an embodiment provided in the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects to be solved by the present application more clearly understood, the switch circuit, emission module, detection device and electronic device of a light source chip proposed in the present application are further described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0037] The aforementioned and other technical contents, features and effects of the present application can be clearly presented in the following detailed description of the specific embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the attached drawings are only for reference and illustration purposes and are not used to limit the technical solutions of the present application.

[0038] It should be noted that, in this article, relational terms such as first and second, etc. are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that an article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements that are not explicitly listed. In the absence of more restrictions, the elements defined by the statement "including one..." do not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the article or device including the elements.

[0039] LiDAR is a radar system that emits laser beams to detect the position, speed and other characteristic quantities of the target. The working principle of LiDAR based on direct time of flight (dToF) ranging technology is: by directly emitting a sensing light pulse to the object to be measured, and measuring the time interval between the time when the sensing light pulse echo reflected by the object to be measured is sensed and the time interval between the time when the sensing light pulse is emitted to obtain the direct flight time of the light, and then calculating the distance of the object to be measured based on the flight time and the speed of light. Single-point dToF can calculate the depth of the sensing point, and the array-type dToF sensor can obtain the spatial point cloud and depth image of the entire field of view space by partitioning multiple points of sensing. The core components of dToF LiDAR can be divided into four parts: transmitting laser, single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensor, signal processing circuit and chip.

[0040] The embodiment of the present application provides a switch circuit 30 applicable to a light source chip of a laser radar transmitting module, referring to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The switch circuit 30 is configured to connect a light source chip 10 and an external power supply 20. The light source chip 10 includes a plurality of light-emitting units 11a arranged in a two-dimensional array. The plurality of light-emitting units 11a arranged along a first direction X are defined as a light-emitting unit group 11. A plurality of different light-emitting unit groups 11 are arranged in sequence along a second direction Y, and the second direction Y is orthogonal to the first direction X. Figure 2 and Figure 3 Only one light-emitting unit group 11 is used as an example. The wiring method of the switch circuit 30 formed by multiple light-emitting unit groups 11 is similar to that in the schematic diagram, and the number is not specifically limited here. The switch circuit 30 includes multiple first switch groups 31, at least one second switch 32, a power port 33 and a ground port 34. The multiple first switch groups 31 are configured to correspond to the multiple light-emitting unit groups 11 one by one, and each first switch group 31 includes at least two first switches 31a connected in parallel with each other. The switching frequency of the second switch 32 is higher than the switching frequency of the first switch 31a. The power port 33 is configured to be connected to the power supply 20 externally, and the anodes of the multiple light-emitting units 11a are respectively connected to the power port 33 through the corresponding first switches 31a. The ground port 34 is configured to be grounded externally, and the cathodes of the multiple light-emitting units 11a are connected to the ground port through the corresponding second switches 32. Among them, each light-emitting unit 11a includes an anode and a cathode, each first switch 31a of the first switch group 31 is connected to the anode of at least one light-emitting unit 11a in a corresponding light-emitting unit group 11, and each second switch 32 connects the cathode of at least one light-emitting unit 11a in a light-emitting unit group 11 to the ground port 34.

[0041] The first direction X may be a horizontal direction or a vertical direction. The second direction Y may be a horizontal direction or a vertical direction. It should be noted that the second direction Y is orthogonal to the first direction X, so when the second direction Y is a horizontal direction, the first direction X is a vertical direction; when the second direction Y is a vertical direction, the first direction X is a horizontal direction. For the convenience of explanation of this embodiment, the following takes the first direction X as a vertical direction and the second direction Y as a horizontal direction as an example for specific explanation.

[0042] The light source chip 10 refers to a device for generating one or more luminous semiconductor structures on a semiconductor substrate. The light source chip 10 includes a plurality of light emitting units 11a in a light emitting unit group 11, and each light emitting unit group 11 is arranged in sequence along the second direction Y, so that the light emitting units 11a in the light source chip 10 can form a layout arrangement in a two-dimensional array.

[0043] The light emitting unit 11a is configured to emit a sensing light beam that can be used for laser radar ranging. The light emitting unit 11a includes an anode and a cathode, the anode is connected to an external power supply 20, and the cathode is grounded.

[0044] The light-emitting unit group 11 refers to a group of light-emitting units formed by arranging a plurality of light-emitting units 11a along the first direction X. That is, each light-emitting unit 11a in the light-emitting unit group 11 is arranged in a row and multiple rows. For example, the light-emitting unit group 11 includes 5 light-emitting units 11a, and the layout of the light-emitting unit group 11 is: 5 light-emitting units 11a are in one row. Among them, the above-mentioned multiple light-emitting units 11a means that the light-emitting unit group 11 includes two or more light-emitting units 11a. It should be noted that the number of light-emitting units 11a in each light-emitting unit group 11 in the light source chip 10 can be the same or different, and no specific limitation is made here. For ease of understanding, the following embodiments all take the same number of light-emitting units 11a in each light-emitting unit group 11 as an example, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, but it does not mean that the number of light-emitting units 11a in each light-emitting unit group 11 needs to be the same. It should be noted here that: "multiple" means two or more.

[0045] The external power supply 20 is used to power the light-emitting units 11a in each light-emitting unit group 11 in the light source chip 10. The power supply 20 can be an alternating current, a direct current, a disposable battery, or a rechargeable battery. When the power supply 20 includes a rechargeable battery, the rechargeable battery can be a wired rechargeable battery or a wireless rechargeable battery. A wired rechargeable battery is a battery charged through a wired line, and a wireless rechargeable battery is a battery charged through a wireless coil. The rechargeable battery can also be used to support fast charging technology.

[0046] The switch circuit 30 controls the light emission of the light emitting unit 11a by switching the electrical connection between the light emitting unit 11a on the light source chip 10 and the power source 20. The switch circuit 30 includes a first switch group 31, a second switch 32, a power port 33 and a ground port 34.

[0047] The first switch group 31 refers to a group of switches that are arranged corresponding to a light emitting unit group 11 and are electrically connected to the anode of the light emitting unit 11a in the light emitting unit group 11. The first switch group 31 includes at least two first switches 31a connected in parallel.

[0048] The second switch 32 is electrically connected to the cathode of the corresponding light emitting unit 11a. The switching frequency of the second switch 32 is faster than that of the first switch 31a, and can be used to control the light emitting unit 11a connected thereto to emit a high-frequency sensing light pulse within a preset period of time to meet the ranging requirements of the laser radar. The cost of the second switch 32 is higher than that of the first switch 31a.

[0049] The power port 33 refers to a port in the switch circuit 30 for electrically connecting to the external power source 20. Figure 1 In the switch circuit 30 of the light source chip 10 of the illustrated embodiment, the anodes of the light emitting units 11 a in each light emitting unit group 11 are connected to the power supply port 33 through the first switches 31 a in the corresponding first switch group 31 .

[0050] The grounding port 34 is a port for grounding in the switch circuit 30. Figure 1 In the switch circuit 30 of the light source chip 10 of the illustrated embodiment, the cathodes of the light emitting units 11 a in each light emitting unit group 11 are connected to the ground port 34 through the corresponding second switches 32 .

[0051] exist Figure 2 and Figure 3 In the illustrated embodiment, the switch circuit 30 of the light source chip is arranged in such a manner that a first switch group 31 and one or more (a plurality refers to two or more) second switches 32 are provided for each light emitting unit group 11, wherein the first switch group 31 includes at least two first switches 31a connected in parallel with each other. Each first switch 31a of the first switch group 31 is connected to the anode of at least one light emitting unit 11a in a corresponding light emitting unit group 11, and each second switch 32 is connected to the cathode of at least one light emitting unit 11a in a light emitting unit group 11.

[0052] The embodiments provided in the present application have the following beneficial effects compared to the prior art: the anode of each light-emitting unit 11a in the same light-emitting unit group 11 is connected to at least two parallel first switches 31a of the corresponding first switch group 31, and the cathode of each light-emitting unit 11a in the same light-emitting unit group 11 is connected to at least one corresponding second switch 32. By increasing the number of first switches 31a corresponding to the light-emitting units 11a, the number of second switches 32 with higher costs can be reduced, thereby reducing the production cost and achieving the same effect.

[0053] In some embodiments, the light emitting unit 11a may be a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL, also known as a vertical resonant cavity surface emitting laser), an edge emitting laser (EEL), a light emitting diode (LED), a laser diode (LD) or a fiber laser. Among them, the edge emitting laser may be a Fabry Perot (FP) laser, a distributed feedback (DFB) laser, an electro-absorption modulated laser (EML), etc., which are not specifically limited here.

[0054] In some embodiments, the first switch 31a is a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) switch.

[0055] In some embodiments, the second switch 32 is a gallium nitride (GaN) switch, which can handle a larger electric field in a smaller device space and provide a faster switching speed than a traditional silicon switch.

[0056] In some embodiments, the maximum number of light emitting units 11a that can be independently controlled to emit light in each light emitting unit group 11 is the product of the number of first switches 31a in a first switch group 31 corresponding to the light emitting unit group 11 and the number of second switches 32 .

[0057] In order to facilitate understanding of the above-mentioned quantitative relationship, the following examples are given, but the specific numbers are not limited to the listed numbers, and the various components can satisfy the above-mentioned quantitative relationship. It should be noted that the switch circuit 30 may include multiple light-emitting unit groups 11 in actual application. The following two examples only use one light-emitting unit group 11 as an exemplary description. The wiring method of other multiple light-emitting unit groups 11 is similar to the wiring method of a single light-emitting unit group 11, and will not be described one by one.

[0058] For example, refer to Figure 2 , the number of light-emitting units 11a in a light-emitting unit group 11 that currently needs to be independently controlled to emit light is 4, which are marked as D1, D2, D3 and D4 respectively. The switch circuit 30 includes a first switch group 31 and a second switch 32 corresponding to the above-mentioned light-emitting unit group 11, wherein the four first switches 31a in the first switch group 31 are marked as SW1a, SW1b, SW1c and SW1d respectively, and the second switch 32 is marked as G1. The specific line connection is: the anode of D1 is electrically connected to SW1a, the anode of D2 is electrically connected to SW1b, the anode of D3 is electrically connected to SW1c, and the anode of D4 is electrically connected to SW1d. The cathodes of D1, D2, D3 and D4 are all connected to G1. Therefore, the four light-emitting units D1-D4 that can be independently controlled to emit light in a light-emitting unit group 11 can be realized by the four first switches SW1a-SW1d and a second switch G1 of a first switching group corresponding to the light-emitting unit group 11.

[0059] For example, refer to Figure 3 , the number of light emitting units 11a in a light emitting unit group 11 that needs to be independently illuminated is 4, which are marked as D5, D6, D7 and D8 respectively. The switch circuit 30 includes a first switch group 31 and two second switches 32 corresponding to the light emitting unit group 11, wherein the two first switches 31a in the first switch group 31 are marked as SW1c and SW1d respectively. The two second switches 32 are marked as G2 and G3 respectively. Figure 3 The specific circuit connections are: the anode of D5 and the anode of D7 are both electrically connected to SW1c, the anode of D6 and the anode of D8 are both electrically connected to SW1d, the cathodes of D5 and D6 are electrically connected to G2, and the cathodes of D7 and D8 are electrically connected to G3.

[0060] It can be seen that the four light-emitting units D5 - D8 in a light-emitting unit group 11 can be independently controlled to emit light, which is achieved by two first switches SW1c and SW1d and two second switches G2 and G3 of a first switching group corresponding to the light-emitting unit group 11 .

[0061] like Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, the light source chip 10 may include a plurality of light emitting unit groups 11, each light emitting unit 11 having the same number and position of light emitting units 11a and the same connection relationship with different first switches 31a in the corresponding first switch group 31. In this case, the light emitting units 11a corresponding in position in different light emitting unit groups 11 may be connected to the same second switch 32. It should be understood that, in some other embodiments, the light emitting units 11a corresponding in position in the above-mentioned different light emitting unit groups 11 may also be connected to different second switches 32 respectively.

[0062] For example, refer to Figure 4 , the number of light-emitting units 11a that need to be independently illuminated is 8, respectively marked as: D9-D16, and the above 8 light-emitting units 11a are divided into two light-emitting unit groups 11, the first light-emitting unit group: D9-D12, and the second light-emitting unit group: D13-D16. The switch circuit 30 of the light source chip may include two first switch groups 31 and one second switch 32, and the two first switch groups 31 are respectively marked as SW2 and SW3. Among them, SW2 corresponds to the D9-D12 setting; SW3 corresponds to the D13-D16 setting. SW2 includes 4 first switches 31a, respectively marked as: SW2a, SW2b, SW2c and SW2d, and SW3 includes 4 first switches 31a, respectively marked as: SW3a, SW3b, SW3c and SW3d. The second switch 32 is marked as G4.

[0063] The specific circuit connection is as follows: in the first light-emitting unit group, the anode of D9 is electrically connected to SW2a, the anode of D10 is electrically connected to SW2b, the anode of D11 is electrically connected to SW2c, and the anode of D12 is electrically connected to SW2d; in the second group, the anode of D13 is electrically connected to SW3a, the anode of D14 is electrically connected to SW3b, the anode of D15 is electrically connected to SW3c, and the anode of D16 is electrically connected to SW3d. Among them, the cathodes of D9-D16 are all electrically connected to G4. When G4 and SW2a are closed, D9 emits light; when G4 and SW2b are closed, D10 emits light; when G4 and SW2c are closed, D11 emits light; when G4 and SW2d are closed, D12 emits light; when G4 and SW3a are closed, D13 emits light; when G4 and SW3b are closed, D14 emits light; when G4 and SW3c are closed, D15 emits light; when G4 and SW3d are closed, D16 emits light.

[0064] It can be seen that, through one second switch G4 and two first switch groups SW2 and SW3, the effect of each light-emitting unit 11a emitting light independently can be achieved, and the number of second switches 32 used is reduced, thereby reducing production costs.

[0065] In some embodiments, Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the number of first switches 31a in the same first switch group 31 is the same as the number of light-emitting units 11a in the corresponding light-emitting unit group 11, so that each first switch 31a in the first switch group 31 can be electrically connected to the anode of each light-emitting unit 11a in the corresponding light-emitting unit group 11 in a one-to-one correspondence; the cathode of each light-emitting unit 11a in the same light-emitting unit group 11 is electrically connected to the same second switch 32.

[0066] It can be seen that in the same light-emitting unit group 11, through the cooperation of a first switch group 31 and a single second switch 32 arranged in parallel, the function of each light-emitting unit 11a in the light-emitting unit group 11 can be realized to emit light separately, thereby reducing the number of second switches 32 required for controlling each light-emitting unit 11a to emit light separately in the light source chip 10. Since the second switch 32 is relatively expensive, the cost of manufacturing the switch circuit 30 can be reduced through the solution of the above embodiment, and the same technical effect as the prior art can be achieved.

[0067] For example, refer to Figure 5 , the number of light-emitting units 11a that need to be independently illuminated is 8, respectively marked as: D17-D24, and the above 8 light-emitting units 11a are divided into two light-emitting unit groups 11, the first group: D17-D20, the second group: D21-D24. The switch circuit 30 of the light source chip may include two first switch groups 31 and two second switches 32, and the two first switch groups 31 are marked as SW4 and SW5 respectively. Among them, SW4 corresponds to the D17-D20 setting; SW5 corresponds to the D21-D24 setting. SW4 includes two first switches 31a, respectively marked as: SW4a and SW4b, and SW5 includes two first switches 31a, respectively marked as: SW5a and SW5b. The two second switches 32 are marked as G5 and G6.

[0068] The specific circuit connection is: the anodes of D17 and D19 are connected to SW4a, and the anodes of D18 and D20 are connected to SW4b. The anodes of D21 and D23 are connected to SW5a, and the anodes of D22 and D24 are connected to SW5b. Among them, the cathodes of D17-D22 are connected to G5; the cathodes of D19-D24 are connected to G6. When G5 and SW4a are closed, D17 emits light, when G5 and SW4b are closed, D18 emits light, when G6 and SW4a are closed, D19 emits light, when G6 and SW4b are closed, D20 emits light, when G5 and SW5a are closed, D21 emits light, when G5 and SW5b are closed, D22 emits light, when G6 and SW5a are closed, D23 emits light, and when G6 and SW5b are closed, D24 emits light.

[0069] It can be seen that the two second switches G5 and G6 in combination with the two first switches 31a of each first switch group 31 can also achieve the effect of controlling each light-emitting unit 11a to emit light individually, and the number of second switches 32 used is reduced, thereby reducing production costs.

[0070] In some embodiments, the number of light emitting units 11 a capable of emitting light simultaneously in each light emitting unit group 11 is the number of light emitting units 11 a connected to the same second switch 32 and the same first switch 31 a , respectively.

[0071] In order to facilitate understanding of the quantitative relationship between the various components in this embodiment, the following examples are given, but the specific quantities are not limited to the quantities listed in this embodiment, and the various components only need to satisfy the above-mentioned quantitative relationship.

[0072] For example, refer to Figure 6 , the number of light-emitting units 11a that need to be grouped to emit light is 8, respectively marked as: D25-D32, and the above 8 light-emitting units 11a are divided into two light-emitting unit groups 11, the first group: D25-D28, the second group: D29-D32. The switch circuit 30 of the light source chip may include two first switch groups 31 and one second switch 32, and the two first switch groups 31 are respectively marked as: SW6 and SW7. Among them, SW6 is set corresponding to D25-D28; SW7 is set corresponding to D29-D32. SW6 includes two first switches 31a, respectively marked as: SW6a and SW6b, and SW7 includes two first switches 31a, respectively marked as: SW7a and SW7b. The second switch 32 is marked as G7.

[0073] The specific circuit connection is: the anodes of D25 and D27 are connected to SW6a, and the anodes of D26 and D28 are connected to SW6b. The anodes of D29 and D31 are connected to SW7a, and the anodes of D30 and D32 are connected to SW7b. Among them, the cathodes of D25-D32 are all connected to G7. When G7 and SW6a are closed, D25 and D27 emit light at the same time; when G7 and SW6b are closed, D26 and D28 emit light at the same time; when G7 and SW7a are closed, D29 and D31 emit light at the same time; when G7 and SW7b are closed, D30 and D32 emit light at the same time.

[0074] It can be understood that the cathodes of the light emitting units 11a corresponding to different first switch groups 31 can also be connected to different second switches 32. That is, the connection method of the anodes of D25-D32 in the above example remains unchanged, and the cathode connection method can be adjusted to: D25-D28 connects to one second switch 32, and D29-D32 connects to another second switch 32. The specific wiring method is similar to that in the previous embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0075] It is understandable that the above Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, the cathodes of two light-emitting units 11a connected to the same first switch 31a in a light-emitting unit group 11 are electrically connected to the same second switch 32, so that they can be controlled to emit light simultaneously. The two light-emitting units 11a are arranged at intervals from the light-emitting units 11a connected to other different first switches 31a, that is, at least two light-emitting units 11a connected to the same first switch 31a in a light-emitting unit group 11 are also separated by at least one light-emitting unit 11a connected to other first switches 31a. The number of light-emitting units 11a connected to other first switches 31a can be one or more, and there is no limitation on this. In some other embodiments, different light-emitting units 11a connected to the same first switch 31a in a light-emitting unit group 11 can also be arranged adjacent to each other.

[0076] It can be understood that, in some embodiments, the light source chip 10 includes multiple groups of light-emitting unit groups 11, and the first switch group 31 corresponding to each group of light-emitting unit groups 11 includes multiple first switches 31a, and each first switch 31a is connected to an unequal number of light-emitting units 11a in the corresponding light-emitting unit group 11, thereby achieving a situation where the number of light-emitting units 11a that emit light simultaneously each time is unequal.

[0077] In the above embodiment, multiple light-emitting units 11a that need to emit light simultaneously in a light-emitting unit group 11 can be controlled by a second switch 32. On the one hand, the number of second switches 32 used is reduced, thereby reducing production costs; on the other hand, the light-emitting units 11a at different positions in the light-emitting unit group 11 can be flexibly set to emit light simultaneously to adapt to different application requirements of the laser radar.

[0078] An embodiment of the present application provides an emission module 100, which is configured to emit a sensing light beam to a preset detection range to perform distance sensing on an object within the detection range. The emission module 100 includes: a light source chip 10, including a plurality of light-emitting units 11a arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein the plurality of light-emitting units 11a arranged along a first direction X are defined as a light-emitting unit group 11, and a plurality of different light-emitting unit groups 11 are arranged in sequence along a second direction Y, and the second direction Y is orthogonal to the first direction X; and a switching circuit 30 of the light source chip in any of the above embodiments.

[0079] The emission module 100 can be used to emit a detection light signal to the detection range, part of which will be reflected by external objects in the detection range and returned, and the reflected detection light signal carries three-dimensional information of the external objects in the detection range. In some embodiments, the detection light signal can be a plurality of laser pulses emitted sequentially.

[0080] The emission module 100 includes a light source chip 10 and a switch circuit 30 .

[0081] Since the emission module of the embodiment of the present application adopts all the technical solutions of the light source chip and the switch circuit in the above embodiment, it also has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above embodiment, which will not be described one by one here.

[0082] In some embodiments, a plurality of light emitting units 11 a connected to the same second switch 32 in a light emitting unit group 11 are connected to the corresponding same second switch 32 through a plurality of different connection ports 12 correspondingly provided on the light source chip 10 .

[0083] The connection port 12 refers to a port on the light source chip 10 for connecting to the switch circuit 30 , and the cathode of the light emitting unit 11 a electrically connected to the second switch 32 in the switch circuit 30 is grounded through the connection port 12 .

[0084] Reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 , the light source chip 10 is provided with a plurality of connection ports 12, and the plurality of connection ports 12 all correspond to the same second switch 32 in the switch circuit 30. That is, the cathodes of the plurality of light emitting units 11a connected to the same second switch 32 are firstly output through the respective connection ports 12 on the light source chip 10, and then the connection of the common cathode of the plurality of light emitting units 11a of the same second switch 32 is completed outside the light source chip 10.

[0085] In some embodiments, a plurality of light emitting units 11 a connected to the same second switch 32 in a light emitting unit group 11 are connected to the corresponding same second switch 32 via a common connection port 12 correspondingly provided on the light source chip 10 .

[0086] Reference Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The light source chip 10 is provided with a plurality of connection ports 12, each of which corresponds to a second switch 32 in the switch circuit 30, and the cathode of the light emitting unit 11a electrically connected to the second switch 32 is grounded through the connection port 12. That is, in this embodiment, the cathodes of the plurality of light emitting units 11a connected to the same second switch 32 are first connected to a common cathode inside the light source chip 10, and then grounded through a connection port 12.

[0087] The present application also provides a photoelectric detection device 400, referring to Fig.11, including the transmitting module 100 in the above embodiment, the photoelectric detection device 400 also includes a receiving module 200 and a processing module 300, the receiving module 200 is configured to sense the light signal from the detection range and output the corresponding light sensing signal, and the processing module 300 is configured to analyze and process the light sensing signal to perform distance detection within the detection range.

[0088] The receiving module 200 can work together according to the sensing period to sense the light signal from the detection range and output the corresponding light sensing signal. It is understood that the light signal received by the receiving module 200 can include the ambient light in the detection range and / or the detection light signal reflected by the external object in the detection range.

[0089] The receiving module 200 may include a photoelectric sensor and a receiving optical device. Optionally, the photoelectric sensor may include a single photosensitive pixel or a plurality of photosensitive pixels. A plurality of photosensitive pixels may be arranged in a pixel array. The photosensitive pixel is used to receive a light signal from a detection range and output a corresponding light sensing signal. The photosensitive pixel includes at least one photosensitive device. Optionally, the photosensitive device is, for example, an avalanche photodiode (APD), a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) in which a plurality of SPADs are arranged in parallel, and / or other suitable photosensitive devices. Optionally, the plurality of photosensitive pixels may not be arranged in an array, for example, they may be arranged in an irregular manner.

[0090] The processing module 300 can be used to analyze and process the light sensing signal generated corresponding to the light signal received by the receiving module 200 to obtain the moment when the detection light signal echo is sensed by the receiving module 200, and obtain the three-dimensional information of the external object based on the time difference between the emission moment of the detection light signal and the moment when it is reflected back and sensed.

[0091] The photoelectric detection device 400 may be a laser radar, which may be used to obtain three-dimensional information of objects within the detection range. The laser radar is used, for example, in the fields of intelligent driving vehicles, intelligent driving aircraft, 3D printing, VR, AR, service robots, etc. Taking an intelligent driving vehicle as an example, a laser radar is set in the intelligent driving vehicle. The laser radar can scan the surrounding environment by quickly and repeatedly emitting laser beams to obtain point cloud data reflecting the shape, position and movement of one or more objects in the surrounding environment.

[0092] Since the photoelectric detection device 400 of the embodiment of the present application adopts all the technical solutions of the emission module 100 in the above embodiment, it also has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above embodiment, which will not be described one by one here.

[0093] The present application also provides an electronic device 500, referring to Fig.11 , including the photoelectric detection device 400 in the above embodiment, the electronic device 500 also includes an application module 510, and the application module 510 is configured to implement corresponding functions according to the detection results of the photoelectric detection device 400.

[0094] The electronic device 500 may be an electronic device with a ToF (Time of Flight, abbreviated as ToF) function, which may be used for three-dimensional information sensing or spatial distance measurement, for example, it may be used for face recognition, gesture recognition, posture or action recognition, automatic driving, machine vision, building recognition, scene recognition modeling, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR), ranging, proximity sensing, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), or 3D mapping, etc. The electronic device 500 may include a smart phone, a tablet computer, a computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a smart wearable device, a smart door lock, an in-vehicle electronic device, medical, aviation, automobile, unmanned vehicle, and other devices or apparatuses that require three-dimensional information sensing functions.

[0095] The electronic device 500 can be a device based on the principle of direct time of flight (abbreviated as dToF) or a device based on the principle of indirect time of flight (abbreviated as iToF). Among them, dToF technology is a distance measurement method based on the distance of objects in the detection range of time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC). TCSPC can perform statistical analysis on the time information of photon events (such as the process from emission to reception of a single photon) by repeatedly emitting and receiving detection light signals to obtain relevant three-dimensional information of the target object that reflects the detection light signal.

[0096] Since the electronic device 500 of the embodiment of the present application adopts all the technical solutions of the photoelectric detection device 400 in the above embodiment, it also has all the beneficial effects brought by the technical solutions of the above embodiment, which will not be described one by one here.

[0097] In some embodiments, the photoelectric detection device 400 is a laser radar, the electronic device 500 is a car, and the laser radar is installed on the car to detect the distance information of objects within a preset range around the car.

[0098] It is understandable that, in some embodiments, the photoelectric detection device 400 is, for example, a laser radar, and the electronic device 500 is, for example, a car. The laser radar can be installed at multiple different positions on the car to detect the distance information of objects within the surrounding range of the car, and to implement driving control accordingly. Specifically, the laser radar emits a laser beam to the surrounding environment of the car, and receives an echo beam reflected by the laser beam by each object in the surrounding environment, and determines the distance / depth information of each object by calculating the time delay (i.e., flight time) between the emission time of the laser beam and the return time of the echo beam. At the same time, the laser radar can also determine the angle information describing the orientation of the laser beam detection range, combine the distance / depth information of each object with the angle information of the laser beam, and generate a three-dimensional map including each object in the scanned surrounding environment, and use the three-dimensional map to guide the intelligent driving of the unmanned vehicle.

[0099] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A switching circuit of a light source chip, characterized in that: The switch circuit is configured to connect a light source chip and an external power supply, the light source chip includes a plurality of light emitting units arranged in a two-dimensional array, the plurality of light emitting units arranged along a first direction is defined as a light emitting unit group, and a plurality of different light emitting unit groups are arranged in sequence along a second direction, the second direction being orthogonal to the first direction, and the switch circuit includes: a plurality of first switch groups arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of light emitting unit groups, each of the first switch groups comprising at least two first switches connected in parallel with each other; and at least one second switch, wherein a switching frequency of the second switch is higher than a switching frequency of the first switch; Each of the light-emitting units includes an anode and a cathode, each first switch of the first switch group is configured to be connected to the anodes of at least two light-emitting units in a light-emitting unit group corresponding to the first switch group, each second switch is configured to be connected to the cathodes of at least two light-emitting units in a light-emitting unit group, at least two light-emitting units in each light-emitting unit group can be controlled to emit light simultaneously, and the at least two light-emitting units that can be controlled to emit light simultaneously are connected to the same second switch and the same first switch respectively; A power port is configured to be externally connected to a power source, and anodes of the plurality of light-emitting units are respectively connected to the power port through corresponding first switches; The ground port is configured to be grounded externally, and cathodes of the plurality of light emitting units are connected to the ground port through corresponding second switches.

2. The switch circuit of the light source chip according to claim 1, characterized in that: The maximum number of light-emitting units that can be independently controlled to emit light in each of the light-emitting unit groups is the product of the number of the first switches and the number of the second switches in a first switch group corresponding to the light-emitting unit group.

3. The switch circuit of the light source chip according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the first switches in the same first switch group is electrically connected to the anodes of at least two of the light-emitting units in the corresponding light-emitting unit group; the cathodes of the light-emitting units connected to the same first switch in one of the light-emitting unit groups are electrically connected to the same second switch, and at least two of the light-emitting units connected to the same first switch in one of the light-emitting unit groups are arranged alternately with the light-emitting units connected to other first switches.

4. The switch circuit of the light source chip according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The light emitting unit is a vertical cavity surface emitting laser; Or, the light emitting unit is an edge emitting laser; Or, the light emitting unit is a light emitting diode; Or, the light emitting unit is a laser diode; Alternatively, the light emitting unit is a fiber laser.

5. The switch circuit of the light source chip according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first switch is a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor switch.

6. The switch circuit of the light source chip according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The second switch is a gallium nitride switch.

7. A transmitting module, characterized in that: The device is configured to emit a sensing light beam to a preset detection range to sense the distance of an object within the detection range, and the emission module includes: A light source chip, comprising a plurality of light emitting units arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein the plurality of light emitting units arranged along a first direction is defined as a light emitting unit group, and a plurality of different light emitting unit groups are arranged in sequence along a second direction, wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction; and A switching circuit for a light source chip as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The transmitting module according to claim 7, characterized in that: The plurality of light-emitting units in one light-emitting unit group connected to the same second switch are respectively connected to the corresponding second switch through a plurality of different connection ports correspondingly arranged on the light source chip.

9. The transmitting module according to claim 7, characterized in that: The plurality of light-emitting units in one light-emitting unit group connected to the same second switch are connected to the corresponding second switch via a common connection port correspondingly arranged on the light source chip.

10. A photoelectric detection device, characterized in that: The photoelectric detection device comprises the transmitting module as described in any one of claims 7 to 9, and further comprises a receiving module and a processing module, wherein the receiving module is configured to sense the light signal from the detection range and output the corresponding light sensing signal, and the processing module is configured to analyze and process the light sensing signal to perform distance detection within the detection range.

11. An electronic device, characterized in that: The electronic device comprises the photoelectric detection device according to claim 10, and further comprises an application module, wherein the application module is configured to implement corresponding functions according to the detection result of the photoelectric detection device.

12. The electronic device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The photoelectric detection device is a laser radar, the electronic device is a car, and the laser radar is installed on the car to detect distance information of objects within a preset range around the car.

Images