LiDAR device

• US 10,578,721 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2019
• Issued: 03/03/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SOS LAB Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SOS LAB Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Jang, Jun Hwan, Yoon, Hee Sun
• Primary Examiner(s): Alsomiri, Isam A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Askarian, Amir J
• Application Number:
  US16/283,542
• Publication Number:
  US 20200025892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 375 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/08 for measuring distance only indirect measurement G01S17/46; active triangulation systems G01S17/48
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4814 of transmitters alone
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4815 using multiple transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4861 Circuits for detection, sampling, integration or read-out
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 1/002 made of materials engineered to provide properties not available in nature, e.g. metamaterials
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2207/101 Nanooptics
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/005 based on electrowetting
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0071 for beam steering, e.g. using a mirror outside the cavity to change the beam direction
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/04256 characterised by the configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/06243 controlling the position or direction of the emitted beam
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/183 having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18344 characterized by the mesa, e.g. dimensions or shape of the mesa
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/18394 Apertures, e.g. defined by the shape of the upper electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/423 having a vertical cavity

Abstract

A lidar device comprises: a laser emitting unit for including a plurality of VCSEL elements emitting a laser beam; a metasurface for including a plurality of beam steering cells arranged in a form of two-dimensional array by a row direction and a column direction, wherein the plurality of beam steering cells guide the laser beam by using nanopillars; wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of beam steering cells form a subwavelength pattern, wherein the increase of an attribute related to at least one of the width, height, and number per unit length of the nanopillars is repetitive along the direction from the center of the metasurface to the position of the row corresponding to the plurality of beam steering cells.

Claims

1. A lidar device for measuring a distance to an obstacle within a field of view having a vertical direction and a horizontal direction and being formed by a plurality of scanning points, the device comprising:

a laser emitting unit including a plurality of VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) elements arranged in a form of array and emitting a laser beam;

a first metasurface including a plurality of first beam steering cells arranged in a first form of one-dimensional array along a first direction, wherein the plurality of the first beam steering cells guide the laser beam along a first steering direction corresponding to one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by using nanopillars disposed on an emission surface side of the laser emitting unit;

a second metasurface including a plurality of second beam steering cells arranged in a second form of one-dimensional array along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the plurality of the second beam steering cells guide the laser beam along a second steering direction corresponding to another of the vertical direction or the horizontal direction by using nanopillars disposed on an emission surface side of the laser emitting unit;

wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of the first beam steering cells form a first subwavelength pattern,

wherein the first subwavelength pattern includes an increment of a first attribute repeated along the first steering direction, the first attribute being related to at least one of a first width, a first height, and a first number per unit length of the nanopillars, and

wherein a first change rate of the first attribute is greater in a first specific cell of the first beam steering cell than at a second specific cell of the first beam steering cell when an angle of the first steering direction of the first specific cell is greater than that of the second specific cell,

wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of the second beam steering cells form a second subwavelength pattern,

wherein the second subwavelength pattern includes an increment of a second attribute repeated along the second steering direction, the second attribute being related to at least one of a second width, a second height, and a second number per unit length of the nanopillars, and

wherein a second change rate of the second attribute is greater in a third specific cell of the second beam steering cell than at a fourth specific cell of the second beam steering cell when an angle of the second steering direction of the third specific cell is greater than that of the fourth specific cell.

2. The lidar device of claim 1, wherein:

the first metasurface includes a first support layer configured to support the nanopillars included in the first beam steering cell; and

the second metasurface includes a second support layer configured to support the nanopillars included in the second beam steering cell.

3. The lidar device of claim 2, wherein a refractive index of the first support layer is equal to a refractive index of the second support layer.

4. The lidar device of claim 2, wherein a refractive index of the first support layer is lower than a refractive index of the nanopillars included in the first beam steering cell.

5. The lidar device of claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of first beam steering cells guide the laser beam in the vertical direction; and

the plurality of second beam steering cells guide the laser beam in the horizontal direction.

6. The lidar device of claim 1, wherein a length in the first steering direction of the first metasurface is smaller than a length in the first steering direction of the second metasurface.

7. The lidar device of claim 1, wherein a change rate of the first attribute is lower than a change rate of the second attribute.

8. The lidar device of claim 1, wherein an angle range of an axis which is perpendicular to the first metasurface of the laser beam after passing through the first metasurface is from −

45°

to 45°

, and the angle range of the axis of the laser beam after passing through the second metasurface is from −

90°

to 90°

.

9. The lidar device of claim 1, wherein a location of each of the plurality of scanning points included in the field of view is related to at least one of a location of the first beam steering cell and a location of the second beam steering cell.

10. A lidar device whose a field of view being formed by a plurality of scanning points distributed in a vertical direction and a horizontal direction, the device comprising:

a laser emitting unit including a plurality of VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) elements arranged in a form of array and emitting a laser beam;

a first metasurface including a plurality of first beam steering cells arranged in a first form of one-dimensional array along a first direction, wherein the plurality of the first beam steering cells guide the laser beam along a first steering direction corresponding to one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by using nanopillars disposed on an emission surface side of the laser emitting unit;

a second metasurface including a plurality of second beam steering cells arranged in a second form of one-dimensional array along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the plurality of the second beam steering cells guide the laser beam along a second steering direction corresponding to another of the vertical direction or the horizontal direction by using nanopillars disposed on an emission surface side of the laser emitting unit;

wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of the first beam steering cells form a first subwavelength pattern,

wherein the first subwavelength pattern includes an increment of a first attribute repeated along the first steering direction, the first attribute being related to at least one of a first width, a first height, and a first number per unit length of the nanopillars, and

wherein a first change rate of the first attribute is greater in a first specific cell of the first beam steering cell than at a second specific cell of the first beam steering cell when an angle of the first steering direction of the first specific cell is greater than that of the second specific cell,

wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of the second beam steering cells form a second subwavelength pattern,

wherein the second subwavelength pattern includes an increment of a second attribute repeated along the second steering direction, the second attribute being related to at least one of a second width, a second height, and a second number per unit length of the nanopillars, and

wherein a second change rate of the second attribute is greater in a third specific cell of the second beam steering cell than at a fourth specific cell of the second beam steering cell when an angle of the second steering direction of the third specific cell is greater than that of the fourth specific cell.

11. A lidar device for measuring a distance to an obstacle within a field of view having a vertical direction and a horizontal direction and being formed by a plurality of scanning points, the device comprising:

a laser emitting unit including a plurality of VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) elements arranged in a form of array and emitting a laser beam;

a first metasurface including a plurality of first beam steering cells arranged in a first form of one-dimensional array along a first direction, wherein the plurality of the first beam steering cells guide the laser beam along a first steering direction corresponding to one of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by using nanopillars disposed on an emission surface side of the laser emitting unit;

a second metasurface including a plurality of second beam steering cells arranged in a second form of one-dimensional array along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the plurality of the second beam steering cells guide the laser beam along a second steering direction corresponding to another of the vertical direction or the horizontal direction by using nanopillars disposed on an emission surface side of the laser emitting unit;

wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of the first beam steering cells form a first subwavelength pattern,

wherein the first subwavelength pattern includes an increment of a first attribute repeated along the first steering direction, the first attribute being related to at least one of a first width, a first height, and a first number per unit length of the nanopillars, and

wherein a first change rate of the first attribute is greater in a first specific cell of the first beam steering cell than at a second specific cell of the first beam steering cell when a distance from a center of the first metasurface to the first specific cell is greater than a distance from the center of the first metasurface to the second specific cell,

wherein the nanopillars included in the plurality of the second beam steering cells form a second subwavelength pattern,

wherein the second subwavelength pattern includes an increment of a second attribute repeated along the second steering direction, the second attribute being related to at least one of a second width, a second height, and a second number per unit length of the nanopillars, and

wherein a second change rate of the second attribute is greater in a third specific cell of the second beam steering cell than at a fourth specific cell of the second beam steering cell when a distance from a center of the second metasurface to the third specific cell is greater than a distance from the center of the second metasurface to the fourth specific cell.

12. The lidar device of claim 11, wherein:

a vertical location of each of the plurality of scanning points is related to a location of the first beam steering cell; and

a horizontal location of each of the plurality of scanning points is related to a location of the second beam steering cell.