360° Lidar Scanning Using Optical Vortices Without Moving Parts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing LIDAR systems face challenges in achieving a full 360° field of view (FOV) scanning without movable parts, which are prone to mechanical failure and limited by mechanical rotation speeds, and existing alternatives like MEMS and optical phased arrays have limited scanning FOV and ranging distance.
Innovation Solution
A LIDAR system utilizing a tunable laser source and a spiral phase plate resonator (SPPR) device that reflects laser beams back and forth, creating optical vortices to achieve a 360° FOV without moving parts, combined with a conical mirror and detector modules to determine beam orientation and a signal processor for synchronization and scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If movable mechanical components (mirrors, gimbals) are used for beam scanning, then the LIDAR system can achieve field of view scanning, but the system reliability decreases due to mechanical failure risk and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical scanning components (mirrors, gimbals, motors) with an acousto-optic modulator that uses acoustic waves to diffract and steer the laser beam. This substitution eliminates moving parts while maintaining beam scanning capability, directly resolving the contradiction between operational capability and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs acoustic waves (sound energy) within the acousto-optic modulator to control beam direction. By using acoustic fields instead of mechanical forces, the system achieves beam steering without physical movement, thereby improving reliability while preserving scanning functionality.
2Ease of operation
If mechanical components are used for beam scanning, then the LIDAR system can change beam direction, but the scanning speed is limited by mechanical rotation speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The acousto-optic modulator uses acoustic wave frequency and amplitude modulation to control beam direction and scanning speed. Since acoustic waves can be modulated much faster than mechanical systems can physically move, the scanning speed is dramatically increased while maintaining precise beam direction control.
Solution Approach 2:
The acousto-optic modulator employs periodic acoustic waves to create a moving diffraction grating effect, enabling rapid beam scanning. The periodic nature of acoustic waves allows for high-frequency modulation and fast scanning speeds that far exceed mechanical rotation capabilities.
3Reliability
If MEMS or optical phased arrays are used for scanning, then the LIDAR system can reduce mechanical parts, but the scanning FOV and ranging distance are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The acousto-optic modulator allows for dynamic adjustment of beam direction, scanning angle, and ranging distance by changing acoustic wave parameters (frequency, amplitude, phase). This flexibility enables a full 360-degree field of view and adjustable ranging distances, overcoming the fixed FOV limitations of MEMS and optical phased arrays while maintaining reliability.
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 system provides a compact, resilient, and high-speed 360° FOV scanning with reduced mechanical failure risk, maintaining alignment under vibrations, and accurate distance measurement without mechanical limitations.
Implementation Method 1
one of the reflective surfaces includes a spiral step index that causes multiple reflected beams having different phases to be combined as an output beam from the device having an optical vortex intensity pattern
Implementation Method 2
a spiral phase plate resonator (SPPR) device that receives and confines the beam to a narrow field-of-view (FOV), where the frequency of the laser beam is tuned to scan the narrow FOV laser around a 360° FOV
Implementation Method 3
a LIDAR system that employs a tunable laser source that generates a laser beam
Implementation Method 4
a conical mirror receiving the output beam and directing the output beam into a desired FOV
Implementation Method 5
a detector assembly having a plurality of single pixel detectors that receive a processing beam from the SPPR device and determine an angle orientation of the output beam from the conical mirror
Implementation Method 6
Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) is a process that transmits modulated pulsed optical beams that are reflected off of a target and the return beam is detected, where the time of flight of the beam is used to determine the distance to the target
Data Source
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AI summary
A LIDAR system that scans a beam in a full 360° FOV without any moving parts. The system includes a transmitter sub-system having a tunable laser beam source, an SPPR responsive to the laser beam, and a conical mirror receiving the output beam and directing the output beam into a desired FOV. The system also includes a receiver sub-system responsive to a reflected beam that is reflected off of an object that receives the output beam from the mirror, where the receiver sub-system includes a plurality of detector modules each including a receiver detector and arranged so that at least one detector module receives the reflected beam from any direction. The system further includes a signal processor sub-system that tunes the frequency of the laser beam generated by the laser source to change the angle orientation of the output beam and scan the output beam in the 360° FOV.