Projectors of structured light

• US 10,690,488 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2018
• Issued: 06/23/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pesach, Benny, Mor, Zafrir
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tu T
• Application Number:
  US15/953,460
• Publication Number:
  US 20180231373A1
• Time in Patent Office: 800 Days
• Field of Search: 356610
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/25 by projecting a pattern, e.g. one or more lines, moiré fringes on the object G01B11/255 takes precedence ; image analysis for depth or shape recovery G06T7/50
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/2513 with several lines being projected in more than one direction, e.g. grids, patterns
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/106 for splitting or combining a plurality of identical beams or images, e.g. image replication
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/1086 operating by diffraction only
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/521 from laser ranging, e.g. using interferometry; from the projection of structured light
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/423 having a vertical cavity

Abstract

An optoelectronic device includes a semiconductor substrate and a monolithic array of light-emitting elements, including first and second sets of the light-emitting elements arranged on the substrate in respective first and second two-dimensional patterns, which are interleaved on the substrate. First and second conductors are respectively connected to separately drive the first and second sets of the light-emitting elements so that the device selectably emits light in either or both of the first and second patterns.

Claims

1. An optoelectronic device, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate; and

a monolithic array of light-emitting elements, arranged on the substrate in a two-dimensional pattern that is not a regular lattice,

wherein the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements is an uncorrelated pattern.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the light-emitting elements comprise vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes.

3. The device according to claim 1, and comprising a projection lens, which is mounted on the semiconductor substrate and is configured to collect and focus light emitted by the light-emitting elements so as to project an optical beam containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements on the substrate.

4. The device according to claim 1, and comprising:

a projection lens, which is configured to collect and focus light emitted by the light-emitting elements so as to project an optical beam containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements onto a surface of an object; and

an imaging assembly, which is configured to capture an image of the projected light pattern on the surface and to process the image so as to derive a 3D map of the surface.

5. A method for producing an optoelectronic device, the method comprising:

providing a semiconductor substrate; and

forming a monolithic array of light-emitting elements on the substrate in a two-dimensional pattern that is not a regular lattice,

wherein the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements is an uncorrelated pattern.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the light-emitting elements comprise vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein forming the monolithic array comprises forming first and second sets of the light-emitting elements, wherein the first and second sets are interleaved on the substrate in respective first and second patterns, and

wherein the method comprises separately driving the first and second sets of the light-emitting elements so that the device selectably emits light in either or both of the first and second patterns.

8. The method according to claim 7, and comprising:

projecting the light emitted by the light emitting elements onto an object;

capturing first images of the object in a low-resolution mode while only the first set of the light-emitting elements is driven to emit the light, thereby projecting a low-resolution pattern onto the object; and

capturing second images in a high-resolution mode while both of the first and second sets of the light-emitting elements are driven to emit the light, thereby projecting a high-resolution pattern onto the object.

9. The method according to claim 5, and comprising mounting a projection lens on the semiconductor substrate so as to collect and focus light emitted by the light-emitting elements, thereby projecting an optical beam containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements on the substrate.

10. The method according to claim 5, and comprising:

collecting and focusing light emitted by the light-emitting elements so as to project an optical beam containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements onto a surface of an object;

capturing an image of the projected light pattern on the surface; and

processing the image so as to derive a 3D map of the surface.

11. An optoelectronic device, comprising:

a semiconductor substrate;

a monolithic array of light-emitting elements, arranged on the substrate in a two-dimensional pattern; and

a projection lens, which is mounted on the semiconductor substrate and is configured to collect and focus light emitted by the light-emitting elements so as to project an optical beam containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements on the substrate.

12. The device according to claim 11, and comprising a diffractive optical element (DOE), which is mounted on the substrate and is configured to expand the projected optical beam by producing multiple, mutually-adjacent replicas of the pattern.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the projection lens and the DOE are formed on opposing sides of a single optical substrate.

14. The device according to claim 11, wherein the projection lens comprises a diffractive lens.

15. The device according to claim 11, wherein the projection lens is configured to project the light pattern onto a surface of an object, and wherein the apparatus comprises an imaging assembly, which is configured to capture an image of the projected light pattern on the surface and to process the image so as to derive a 3D map of the surface.

16. A method for producing an optoelectronic device, the method comprising:

providing a semiconductor substrate;

forming a monolithic array of light-emitting elements on the substrate in a two-dimensional pattern; and

mounting a projection lens on the semiconductor substrate so as to collect and focus light emitted by the light-emitting elements, thereby projecting an optical beam containing a light pattern corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern of the light-emitting elements on the substrate.

17. The method according to claim 16, and comprising mounting a diffractive optical element (DOE) on the substrate so as to expand the projected optical beam by producing multiple, mutually-adjacent replicas of the pattern.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the projection lens and the DOE are formed on opposing sides of a single optical substrate.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the projection lens comprises a diffractive lens.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein projecting the optical beam comprises projecting the light pattern onto a surface of an object, and wherein the method comprises capturing an image of the projected light pattern on the surface, and processing the image so as to derive a 3D map of the surface.