Multi-Beam LIDAR Coherent Optical Combining
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Increasing LIDAR detection range and sensitivity is challenging due to the difficulty and cost of designing more powerful lasers, particularly in applications like autonomous vehicle navigation systems.
Innovation Solution
The use of multiple coherent lasers with synchronized chirp rates and chirp durations to create a comb of optical beams with a fixed frequency separation, resulting in periodic regions of constructive and destructive interference, which are combined and downconverted to enhance detection capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If more powerful lasers are designed to increase LIDAR detection range and sensitivity, then detection capability is improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides a single high-power laser system into multiple lower-power laser transmitters that operate simultaneously. Each transmitter emits optical beams with synchronized chirp rates and frequencies, creating segmented versions of what would otherwise require a single complex high-power laser system.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple optical beams from separate laser transmitters are combined through constructive interference to achieve the effective power and detection capability of a single more powerful laser. The beams are coherently combined by synchronizing their chirp rates and frequencies, merging their effects to improve detection sensitivity without requiring a single high-power source.
2Power
If multiple optical beams are combined to increase effective power, then detection range is improved, but interference patterns may create detection challenges
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully controls and synchronizes critical parameters of multiple optical beams including chirp rate, frequency, and phase. By precisely matching these parameters, the system ensures constructive interference at the target while minimizing problematic interference patterns during detection, thus maintaining detection accuracy while achieving increased effective power.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical beam combining methods with coherent optical combining. Instead of physically merging beams through mechanical means that would create complex interference, the system uses synchronized chirp rates and frequencies to achieve constructive interference through wave coherence, simplifying the detection process.
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
This approach increases the effective power and sensitivity of LIDAR systems, allowing for real-time, long-range measurements of range, velocity, azimuth, and elevation with improved spatial awareness in target environments.
Implementation Method 1
The present disclosure describes example LIDAR systems and methods for increasing the effective power and sensitivity of a LIDAR transceiver through the use of multiple coherent lasers with constructive interference
Data Source
AI summary
A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system includes an optical source to emit a corresponding plurality of optical beams with synchronized chirp rates and synchronized chirp durations. The plurality of optical beams are each tuned to produce regions of constructive and destructive interference into a combined optical beam. A first optical component forms a phase-locked loop to correct nonlinearities detected in the plurality of optical beams. A second optical component transmits a combined optical beam toward a target environment and receives a target return signal. A third optical component downconverts the target return signal to a plurality of fixed frequency downconverted target return signals, each including a target range component and a target velocity component.