RESUMEN
Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a widely utilized technology for extracting information from the outside world in fields such as automotive, robotics, and aerospace. Optical phased array (OPA) is a promising solution for LiDAR technology, although its application is limited by loss and alias-free steering range. In this paper, we propose a dual-layer antenna that achieves a peak directionality of over 92%, thereby mitigating antenna loss and enhancing power efficiency. Based on this antenna, we design and fabricate a 256-channel non-uniform OPA that achieves 150° alias-free steering.
RESUMEN
All-solid-state beam scanning chip is ideal for next-generation LiDAR due to its reliability and small size. Here we propose a focal plane array chip for two-dimensional scanning using field-of-view splicing technology on silicon photonics platform. The chip has two rotationally symmetric structures, each including a 1 × 64 antenna array accompanied by a 1 × 64 micro-ring optical switch array. We demonstrate a two-dimensional scanning equivalent to an 8-line LiDAR with a field-of-view of 82° × 32°, a beam divergence angle of 0.07° × 0.07°, and a background suppression ratio of over 20 dB. Our chip works in such a simple way that only one optical switch needs to be turned on each time the beam is emitted. And the chip is scalable that a larger range of two-dimensional scanning can be achieved when using more antennas for field-of-view splicing and cascading more optical switches.
RESUMEN
Optical phased array can be widely used in many fields benefiting from its superior performance. We designed and fabricated chirped grating antennas and uniform grating antennas for the optical phased array. The effective aperture of the chirped grating antennas is about twice that of the uniform grating antennas. The chirped grating optical phased array can receive the reflected signal of the object at a distance of 100 m, while the uniform grating optical phased array can only receive 50 m under the same conditions. Additionally, a ranging distance of 25 m is achieved when two chirped grating optical phased arrays are set as the transmitter and receiver.
RESUMEN
An optical phased array (OPA) is one of the most promising methods of light detection and ranging. A non-uniform array with different emitter distances is a method to realize OPA steering without grating lobes or a distance between two adjacent emitters larger than λ/2. However, the side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) will decrease as OPA turns into a large angle. In this paper, 64-, 128-, and 256-channel non-uniform OPAs are optimized by non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II), which is a multi-objective optimization algorithm. Compared with arrays optimized by a genetic algorithm, the SMSR at 80° improves by 2.18, 2.61, and 2.56 dB, respectively.