Optical Fiber Array Collimator for Multi-Line LiDAR
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multi-line LiDAR systems face challenges in cost, complexity, and assembly difficulties due to the high number of laser transmitters required for increased scan lines, making them expensive and hard to manufacture in large quantities.
Innovation Solution
An optical fiber array collimator is developed, comprising an optical fiber array and a collimating lens, which can produce multiple high-precision collimated beams by adjusting the distance between the optical fiber array and the collimating lens, reducing the need for multiple laser transmitters and enabling cost-effective, high-resolution LiDAR systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple laser transmitters are used to increase the number of scan lines, then the spatial resolution and number of LiDAR lines are improved, but the cost, device complexity, and manufacturing difficulty increase linearly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple laser transmitters into a single laser transmitter that illuminates a multi-fiber optical array. Instead of having separate laser sources for each scan line, one laser source illuminates multiple optical fibers simultaneously, and each fiber outputs a collimated beam for a different scan line. This combining approach maintains high spatial resolution while dramatically reducing the number of laser transmitters and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The single laser transmitter serves multiple functions by illuminating multiple optical fibers simultaneously. The laser beam is distributed across the optical array, enabling one laser source to generate multiple collimated output beams for different scan lines. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate laser transmitters for each scan line, reducing cost and complexity while maintaining measurement precision.
2Productivity
If multiple laser transmitters are used to increase the number of scan lines, then the number of LiDAR lines is improved, but the manufacturing cost and assembly difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple laser transmitter functions into a single unit that illuminates a multi-fiber optical array. This merging reduces the number of components that need to be assembled and positioned, significantly simplifying the manufacturing process. Instead of assembling and aligning multiple separate laser transmitters, only one laser transmitter and one optical array need to be integrated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an optical array to create multiple copies of the laser beam output simultaneously. The single laser beam is distributed across multiple optical fibers, which then output multiple collimated beams. This optical copying mechanism eliminates the need for multiple physical laser transmitters, reducing assembly complexity while maintaining the number of LiDAR scan lines.
3Loss of information
If multiple laser transmitters are used to increase the number of scan lines, then the spatial information acquisition is improved, but the system volume and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple laser transmitter functions into a single compact unit that illuminates a multi-fiber optical array. This consolidation significantly reduces the system volume compared to having multiple separate laser transmitters arranged vertically. The optical array integrates multiple beam generation functions into a single compact component, maintaining full spatial information acquisition capability while minimizing the overall system size.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The optical fiber array collimator significantly reduces the number of lasers needed, lowers production costs, and simplifies assembly, enabling mass production of high-performance, low-cost multi-line LiDAR systems with improved spatial resolution and reduced volume.
Implementation Method 1
a collimating lens component (130)... The light output surface of the optical fiber array assembly is installed near a focal plane of the collimating lens assembly
Data Source
AI summary
An optical fiber array collimator is disclosed for use in a multi-line LiDAR application. The collimator includes an optical fiber array assembly, a collimating lens assembly and a housing. The optical fiber array assembly and a collimating lens assembly are positioned, assembled, and fixed in the housing. The light output surface of the optical fiber array assembly is installed near the focal plane of the collimating lens assembly. By adjusting the distance between the optical fiber array and the collimating lens, the high-precision collimated output beams from multiple optical fibers can be realized simultaneously. The fiber array can be packed and assembled with dozens or hundreds of fibers with high density. The fiber arrangement has the characteristics of adjustable density, high precision spacing and high reliability.The collimating lens includes at least one spherical or aspherical lens, which can achieve minimal aberration in different fields of view through optical design optimization. The laser spot after collimating has the characteristics of high beam quality, small wavefront distortion and small far-field divergence angle, which can achieve accurate detection of distant targets. In this collimator, due to the fiber location at vertical direction from different channels of the fiber array having different height with respect to the main optical axis of the collimating lens, the output collimating beam will have different emergence angle, which have different viewing angles. By designing and adjusting the fiber locations(height) in the fiber array with respect to the main optical axis, we can realize the accurate control of the field angle; by controlling the density and interval of the fiber distribution in optical fiber array, the density distribution of multiple collimating laser beams at different field angles can be realized.The disclosure can be widely used for multi-line LiDAR. Because the fiber is very fine, it can be assembled and arranged on the fiber array with high density, which greatly improves the density of the light spot, and then greatly improves the angular resolution of the multi-line LiDAR in vertical space. At the same time, according to the design requirements of multi-line LiDAR, by adjusting the density distribution of optical fibers on the fiber array, it can meet the differential application requirements for LiDAR in different vertical fields of view.The disclosure of the collimator has N (N≥2) optical fiber input and can be connected with 1xN optical splitter components (including fiber coupler, optical fiber splitter, optical switch, etc.), which can achieve one beam from one laser source split into N beam and then N beam are collimated, which can greatly reduce the number of laser source and cut the cost of LiDAR, and reduce the volume of the device.The disclosure has the advantages of simple overall structure, easy adjustment and assembly, small volume, easy for mass production, low cost and high reliability, which can not only meet the huge demand of the future market for LiDAR, especially multi-line LiDAR, but also meet the high standard and stringent environmental reliability requirements of the automobile industry.