California Institute of Technology

Oewaves, Inc.

Gm Cruise Holdings LLC

Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the

University of Southern California

Strobe, Inc.

Lutfollah Maleki

Vladimir Ilchenko

Anatoliy A Savchenkov

Andrey B Matsko

Scott B Singer

Ivan Grudinin

Xiaotian Steve Yao

Danny Eliyahu

Sergio Alvarez

David Seidel

Ayan Chakrabarty

Nan Yu

Alexander Charles Standridge

Jacob Levy

Dmitry V Strekalov

Vala Fathipour

Thanh M Le

Timothy A Handley

Dmitri Kossakovski

Kyle Vogt

William H Steier

Vladimir S Iltchenko

Ismail Tolga Yilmaz

Nikolai Morozov

Dmitri A Kossakovski

Makan Mohageg

Kouros Sariri

Vladimir S IItchenko

An FM LIDAR system is described that includes a frequency modulated LIDAR system that incorporates a laser source that is optically coupled to a whispering gallery mode optical resonator. Light from the laser that is coupled into the whispering gallery mode optical resonator is coupled back out as a returning counterpropagating wave having a frequency characteristic of a whispering gallery mode of the optical resonator. This returning wave is used to reduce the linewidth of the source laser by optical injection. Modulation of the optical properties of the whispering gallery mode optical resonator results in modulation of the frequency of the frequencies supported by whispering gallery modes of the resonator, and provides a method for producing highly linear and reproducible optical chirps that are highly suited for use in a LIDAR system. Methods of using such an FM LIDAR system and vehicle assisting systems that incorporate such FM LIDAR systems are also described.

Compact LIDAR system

An asymmetric whispering gallery mode resonator device is described. The resonator device includes an asymmetric whispering gallery mode resonator disk (e.g., transparent material, electrooptic material). The resonator disk includes an axial surface along a perimeter of the resonator disk, a top surface, and a bottom surface. A first midplane passes through the axial surface dividing the axial surface into symmetrical halves. The top surface and the bottom surface are substantially parallel, and a second midplane is substantially equidistant between the top surface and the bottom surface. The first midplane and the second midplane are non-coextensive. The asymmetric whispering gallery mode resonator disk can further include a first chamfered edge between the top surface and the axial surface, and a second chamfered edge between the bottom surface and the axial surface. Moreover, the resonator device includes a first electrode on the top surface and a second electrode on the bottom surface.

Asymmetric whispering gallery mode resonator

A non-reciprocal optical assembly for injection locking a laser to a resonator is described. The laser emits a light beam, and the resonator receives the light beam and returns a feedback light beam to the laser such that the feedback light beam causes injection locking. The non-reciprocal optical assembly is interposed between and optically coupled to the laser and the resonator. The non-reciprocal optical assembly includes a first port that receives the light beam from the laser, and a second port that outputs the light beam to the resonator and receives the feedback light beam from the resonator. The first port also outputs the feedback light beam to the laser. The light beam passes through the non-reciprocal optical assembly with a first power loss, and the feedback light beam passes through the non-reciprocal optical assembly with a second power loss (the first power loss differs from the second power loss).

Non-reciprocal optical assembly for injection locked laser

A lidar system is described herein. The lidar system includes a transmitter that is configured to emit a frequency-modulated lidar signal. The lidar system further includes processing circuitry that is configured to compute a distance between the lidar system and an object based upon the frequency-modulated lidar signal, the processing circuitry configured to compute the distance with a first resolution when the distance is at or beneath a predefined threshold, the processing circuitry configured to compute the distance with a second resolution when the distance is above the predefined threshold, wherein the first resolution is different from the second resolution.

Lidar system that is configured to compute ranges with differing range resolutions

Various technologies described herein pertain to context aware real-time power adjusting for steerable lidar. A lidar system can include a laser source (e.g., FMCW) configured to emit an optical signal. The lidar system can further include a scanner configured to direct the optical signal emitted by the laser source from the lidar system into an environment. The optical signal can be directed over a field of view in the environment during time periods of frames. The lidar system can further include a controller configured to modulate a power of the optical signal emitted by the laser source between the frames and/or within one or more of the frames. The controller can modulate the power of the optical signal emitted by the laser source based on a position of the lidar system in the environment and a direction in which the optical signal is to be transmitted into the environment.

Context aware real-time power adjustment for steerable lidar

A light detection and ranging ('LiDAR') system includes a coherent light source that generates a frequency modulated optical signal comprising a series of optical chirps. A scanning assembly transmits the series of optical chirps in a scan pattern across a scanning region, and receives a plurality of reflected optical chirps corresponding to the transmitted optical chirps that have reflected off one or more objects located within the scanning region. A photodetector mixes the reflected optical chirps with a local oscillation (LO) reference signal comprising a series of LO reference chirps. An electronic data analysis assembly processes digital data derived from the reflected optical chirps and the LO reference chirps mixed at the photodetector to generate distance data and optionally velocity data associated with each of the reflected optical chirps.

LiDAR system

A high Q whispering gallery mode resonator with ion-implanted voids is described. A resonator device includes a resonator disk formed of an electrooptic material. The resonator disk includes a top surface, a bottom surface substantially parallel to the top surface, and a side structure between the top surface and the bottom surface. The side structure includes an axial surface along a perimeter of the resonator disk, where a midplane passes through the axial surface dividing the axial surface into symmetrical halves. The whispering gallery mode resonator disk includes voids localized at a particular depth from the top surface. At least one of the voids localized at the particular depth from the top surface is located at an outer extremity towards the perimeter of the resonator disk. The resonator device can further include a first electrode on the top surface and a second electrode on the bottom surface.

Optical resonator with localized ion-implanted voids

An optical coupling device is described herein. The optical coupling device comprises a first waveguide and a second waveguide that are formed on a common substrate, and a resonator that is positioned out of plane with the two waveguides. The resonator and waveguides are positioned such that light traveling in each of the waveguides evanescently couples to the resonator but not to the other of the waveguides. The optical coupling device can be used in connection with improving linewidth of a laser source for a lidar sensor. In another example, the optical coupling device can be used in connection with wavelength division multiplexing.

Systems and methods for efficient coupling between integrated photonic waveguides and electro-optic resonator

A light detection and ranging ('LIDAR') system includes a coherent light source that generates a frequency modulated optical signal comprising a series of optical chirps. A scanning assembly transmits the series of optical chirps in a scan pattern across a scanning region, and receives a plurality of reflected optical chirps corresponding to the transmitted optical chirps that have reflected off one or more objects located within the scanning region. A photodetector mixes the reflected optical chirps with a local oscillation (LO) reference signal comprising a series of LO reference chirps. An electronic data analysis assembly processes digital data derived from the reflected optical chirps and the LO reference chirps mixed at the photodetector to generate distance data and optionally velocity data associated with each of the reflected optical chirps.

Various technologies described herein pertain to multiple laser, single optical resonator lidar systems. A lidar system includes a single optical resonator optically coupled to at least a first laser and a second laser. The optical resonator is formed of an electrooptic material. The first laser and the second laser are optically injection locked to the optical resonator. Moreover, a modulator applies a time-varying voltage to the optical resonator to control modulation of an optical property of the electrooptic material, which causes the first laser to generate a first frequency modulated optical signal comprising a first series of optical chirps and/or the second laser to generate a second frequency modulated optical signal comprising a second series of optical chirps. Further, front end optics transmits at least a portion of the first frequency modulated optical signal and/or the second frequency modulated optical signal into an environment from the lidar system.

Multiple laser, single resonator lidar

Growing community of inventors

Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Lutfollah Maleki