US 12,313,952 B2
Beam steering apparatus, method of driving the beam steering apparatus, and LiDAR system including the beam steering apparatus
Byunggil Jeong, Anyang-si (KR)
Assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed by SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed on Jan. 8, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/144,445.
Application 17/144,445 is a continuation of application No. 15/800,328, filed on Nov. 1, 2017, granted, now 10,901,292.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2017-0079215 (KR), filed on Jun. 22, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2021/0132464 A1, May 6, 2021
Int. Cl. G02F 1/29 (2006.01); G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 17/42 (2006.01)
CPC G02F 1/292 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4814 (2013.01); G01S 7/4817 (2013.01); G01S 17/42 (2013.01); G02F 2201/34 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A beam steering apparatus comprising:
a phase modulation device configured to modulate a phase of incident light and thereby reflect the incident light in at least two different directions, the incident light reflected in the at least two different directions comprising a first steered light that is reflected in a first direction and a second steered light that is reflected in a second direction; and
a beam reflection device configured to reflect, toward an object, one of the first steered light and the second steered light,
wherein the phase modulation device is further configured to apply a first phase value φ1 and a second phase value φ2 to the incident light, and thereby emit the first steered light from the phase modulation device toward the object in the first direction and emit the second steered light from the phase modulation device toward the beam reflection device in the second direction so that the second steered light travels to the object after being reflected from the beam reflection device,
wherein the first steered light is a +1st order diffracted beam of the incident light and the second steered light is a −1st order diffracted beam of the incident light, and
wherein the beam reflection device is configured to control a reflection angle of the second steered light and thereby cause a scan area of the first steered light and a scan area of the second steered light to be the same.