US 12,270,949 B2
Dual path light detection and ranging system
Alexander Yukio Piggott, San Mateo, CA (US); Alexander Alexeevich Gondarenko, San Jose, CA (US); Steven Andrew Fortune, Wanaka (NZ); Andrew James Compston, San Francisco, CA (US); Robert Francis Wiser, San Francisco, CA (US); and Remus Nicolaescu, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Pointcloud Inc., Zurich (CH)
Filed by Pointcloud Inc., San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Nov. 12, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/096,399.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/934,247, filed on Nov. 12, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0141058 A1, May 13, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 7/484 (2006.01); G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 7/4861 (2020.01); G01S 7/497 (2006.01); G01S 17/34 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/484 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4818 (2013.01); G01S 7/4861 (2013.01); G01S 7/497 (2013.01); G01S 17/34 (2020.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
generating a light beam using an integrated light source in an optical transmitter photonic integrated circuit (PIC);
splitting the light beam into multiple outgoing beams to a target object, the light beam split into the multiple outgoing beams by an optical switch tree in the transmitter PIC, the optical switch tree comprising one or more optical switches controlled by an electronic switch control circuit integrated in the transmitter PIC, the electronic switch control circuit comprising an electrical multiplexer to generate a feedback signal for control of the one or more optical switches using a demultiplexer in the electronic switch control circuit to compensate for changes in optical loss, each of the one or more optical switches comprising photodetectors to generate a current from the multiple outgoing beams, the current being input into the electrical multiplexer to generate the feedback signal, each one of the one or more optical switches comprising two phase shifters driven by outputs of the demultiplexer, the demultiplexer receiving a selection setting that is set using the feedback signal;
transmitting the multiple outgoing beams to a target using a plurality of couplers in the transmitter PIC;
receiving reflected light beams from the target using an optical receiver array; and
generating, using one or more processors of a machine, ranging information from the reflected light beams.