The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 28, 2023
Filed:
May. 18, 2020
GM Cruise Holdings Llc, San Francisco, CA (US);
Abdelkrim El Amili, Arcadia, CA (US);
Jacob Levy, Sierra Madre, CA (US);
Scott Singer, San Gabriel, CA (US);
Vala Fathipour, Pasadena, CA (US);
Ayan Chakrabarty, Glendora, CA (US);
Kamel Benboudjema, Pasadena, CA (US);
Richard Kalantar Ohanian, Glendale, CA (US);
David Lew, Arcadia, CA (US);
George Keseyan, Los Angeles, CA (US);
GM CRUISE HOLDINGS LLC, San Francisco, CA (US);
Abstract
Various technologies described herein pertain to a time of flight lidar sensor system that uses a coherent detection scheme. The lidar sensor system includes a laser source, a semiconductor optical amplifier, a combiner, and a balanced detector. The laser source emits an input optical signal. The semiconductor optical amplifier receives a first portion of the input optical signal and outputs a modulated optical signal (amplified and modulated). The combiner receives a second portion of the input optical signal and a returned optical signal received responsive to transmission of at least a portion of the modulated optical signal. The combiner coherently mixes the second portion of the input optical signal with the returned optical signal and outputs mixed optical signals. The balanced detector detects the mixed optical signals and generates an output signal (e.g., a differential photocurrent), which can be used to detect a distance to a target.