Frequency-angular resolving LiDAR using chip-scale acousto-optic beam steering

Thanks to its superior imaging resolution and range, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is fast becoming an indispensable optical perception technology for intelligent automation systems including autonomous vehicles and robotics(1-3). The development of next-generation LiDAR systems critically needs a non-mechanical beam-steering system that scans the laser beam in space. Various beam-steering technologies(4) have been developed, including optical phased array(5-8), spatial light modulation(9-11), focal plane switch array(12,13), dispersive frequency comb(14,15) and spectro-temporal modulation(16). However, many of these systems continue to be bulky, fragile and expensive. Here we report an on-chip, acousto-optic beam-steering technique that uses only a single gigahertz acoustic transducer to steer light beams into free space. Exploiting the physics of Brillouin scattering(17,18), in which beams steered at different angles are labelled with unique frequency shifts, this technique uses a single coherent receiver to resolve the angular position of an object in the frequency domain, and enables frequency-angular resolving LiDAR. We demonstrate a simple device construction, control system for beam steering and frequency domain detection scheme. The system achieves frequency-modulated continuous-wave ranging with an 18 degrees field of view, 0.12 degrees angular resolution and a ranging distance up to 115 m. The demonstration can be scaled up to an array realizing miniature, low-cost frequency-angular resolving LiDAR imaging systems with a wide two-dimensional field of view. This development represents a step towards the widespread use of LiDAR in automation, navigation and robotics.

Automated summary

Due to superior imaging resolution and range, LiDAR is becoming an essential optical perception technology for intelligent automation systems. However, many existing beam-steering technologies are still bulky, fragile, and expensive. This study presents an on-chip acousto-optic beam-steering technique that overcomes these challenges. By utilizing Brillouin scattering, this technique achieves frequency-angular resolving LiDAR with a simple device construction, control system, and detection scheme, demonstrating a wide field of view and high angular resolution.