Lidar system with optical trigger
First Claim
1. A lidar system comprising:
- a light source configured to emit a ranging pulse of light that is directed into a field of regard of the lidar system, wherein the light source comprises a seed laser diode configured to produce a seed pulse of light and an optical amplifier configured to amplify the seed pulse of light to produce the ranging pulse of light;
a fiber-optic splitter located within the light source, wherein the fiber-optic splitter is configured to split off a portion of the ranging pulse of light to produce a trigger pulse of light that is directed to a receiver of the lidar system;
the receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to;
detect, at a first time, at least a portion of the trigger pulse of light; and
detect, at a second time subsequent to the first time, a portion of the ranging pulse of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system; and
a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on the first time and the second time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a lidar system includes a light source configured to emit a ranging pulse of light that is directed into a field of regard of the lidar system. The lidar system also includes a fiber-optic splitter configured to split off a portion of the ranging pulse of light to produce a trigger pulse of light that is directed to a receiver of the lidar system. The receiver is configured to detect, at a first time, at least a portion of the trigger pulse of light; and detect, at a second time subsequent to the first time, a portion of the ranging pulse of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system. The lidar system further includes a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on the first time and the second time.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A lidar system comprising:
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a light source configured to emit a ranging pulse of light that is directed into a field of regard of the lidar system, wherein the light source comprises a seed laser diode configured to produce a seed pulse of light and an optical amplifier configured to amplify the seed pulse of light to produce the ranging pulse of light; a fiber-optic splitter located within the light source, wherein the fiber-optic splitter is configured to split off a portion of the ranging pulse of light to produce a trigger pulse of light that is directed to a receiver of the lidar system; the receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to; detect, at a first time, at least a portion of the trigger pulse of light; and detect, at a second time subsequent to the first time, a portion of the ranging pulse of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system; and a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on the first time and the second time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A lidar system comprising:
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a light source configured to emit a ranging pulse of light that is directed into a field of regard of the lidar system; a fiber-optic splitter configured to split off a portion of the ranging pulse of light to produce a trigger pulse of light that is directed to a receiver of the lidar system; an optical-delay fiber configured to temporally delay the ranging pulse of light with respect to the trigger pulse of light, wherein; the optical delay fiber comprises a length of optical fiber located after the fiber-optic splitter; and after the trigger pulse of light is split off from the ranging pulse of light, the ranging pulse of light propagates through the length of optical fiber; the receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to; detect, at a first time, at least a portion of the trigger pulse of light; detect, at a second time subsequent to the first time, internally scattered light from the ranging pulse of light scattered from within the lidar system; and detect, at a third time subsequent to the second time, a portion of the ranging pulse of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system; and a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on the first time and the third time. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A lidar system comprising:
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a light source configured to emit a ranging pulse of light that is directed into a field of regard of the lidar system, wherein the light source comprises a seed laser diode configured to produce a seed pulse of light and a semiconductor optical amplifier configured to amplify the seed pulse of light to produce the ranging pulse of light; a fiber-optic splitter configured to split off a portion of the ranging pulse of light to produce a trigger pulse of light that is directed to a receiver of the lidar system; the receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to; detect, at a first time, at least a portion of the trigger pulse of light; and detect, at a second time subsequent to the first time, a portion of the ranging pulse of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system; and a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on the first time and the second time. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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Specification