Lidar system with integrated circulator

• Main Authors: Kremer, Richard, Mulqueen, Michael, Huang, Biqin, Talty, Timothy J, Patterson, Pamela R
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 07.02.2023
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; CONTROLLING; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; REGULATING; SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES; TESTING

A vehicle, Lidar system and method of detecting an object is disclosed. The Lidar system includes a photonic chip having an aperture, one or more photodetectors and a circulator. A transmitted light beam generated within the photonic chip exits the photonic chip via the aperture and a reflected light beam enters the photonic chip via the aperture, the reflected light beam being a reflection of the transmitted light beam from the object. The one or more photodetectors measure the parameter of the object from at least the reflected light beam. The circulator integrated into the photonic chip directs the transmitted light beam toward the aperture and directs the reflected light beam from the aperture to the one or more photodetectors. A navigation system navigates the vehicle with respect to the object based on the parameter of the object.