LIDAR

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a sensing method, which utilizes light to measure distances and velocities. It is widely used in many areas including autonomous vehicles and robotics, navigation, aerial mapping and other geo-related measurements, atmospheric research, etc. In comparison with RADAR systems, which rely on radio- waves, LIDAR refers to usage of visible to near infrared light wavelength range, providing possibility of long-distance measurements with higher resolution, as optical wavelengths would have smaller diffraction angles for a given aperture.

Wide-angle area coverage available in to-date LIDARs often relies on moving mechanical components to allow scanning. This fact limits scan rates, decreases reliability and leads to high costs. Integrated photonics can bring here on-chip integration of main components (laser, beam steering systems and photo-detectors) to increase overall performance, reliability and stability of a system, while significantly decreasing costs by wafer-scale production.

Operation in wavelengths range around 1.55 µm provides benefits of available low-cost sources and detectors, eye-safe operation even at a high power levels, and low atmospheric absorption of a beam. LIGENTEC’s Silicon Nitride platform greatly suits as a basis for implementation of integrated LIDAR systems, as it provides ultra-low losses in near IR region, has low nonlinearity, allowing guidance of high optical power densities, and generally has less fabrication-induced phase variations than silicon-based waveguides. The platform is also perfectly compatible with operation in 800-1000 nm range which is widely used to date in different LIDAR realisations and could serve as intermediary component for larger systems. Our platform open a road for reliable and scalable on-chip beam steering systems, which can be further combined with either conventional sources and detectors, or heterogeneously integrated with their on-chip analogous.

Ready to push develop your LIDAR system? Contact us to discuss your application — from MPW prototyping to volume production.