US 12,013,486 B2
LiDAR system and method of driving the same
Inoh Hwang, Seongnam-si (KR); Dongjae Shin, Seoul (KR); Jungwoo Kim, Hwaseong-si (KR); Junghyun Park, Seoul (KR); Byunggil Jeong, Anyang-si (KR); and Byounglyong Choi, Seoul (KR)
Assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed by SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed on Aug. 12, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/400,906.
Application 17/400,906 is a continuation of application No. 15/861,245, filed on Jan. 3, 2018, granted, now 11,119,191.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2017-0093689 (KR), filed on Jul. 24, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2021/0373131 A1, Dec. 2, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G01S 7/48 (2006.01); G01S 7/00 (2006.01); G01S 7/4865 (2020.01); G01S 17/06 (2006.01); G01S 17/10 (2020.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01); G02B 26/10 (2006.01); G02B 27/00 (2006.01); G02F 1/01 (2006.01); G02F 1/29 (2006.01); G11B 7/2433 (2013.01)
CPC G01S 7/4808 (2013.01) [G01S 7/003 (2013.01); G01S 7/4865 (2013.01); G01S 17/06 (2013.01); G01S 17/10 (2013.01); G01S 17/89 (2013.01); G02B 26/10 (2013.01); G02B 27/0087 (2013.01); G02F 1/0126 (2013.01); G02F 1/292 (2013.01); G11B 7/2433 (2013.01); G02F 2202/30 (2013.01); G02F 2203/50 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system comprising:
a light source;
a beam steering device comprising an optical phase array (OPA) that comprises a plurality of channels, the plurality of channels being respectively configured to modulate a phase of light from the light source and to output a first light beam in a first direction and a second light beam in a second direction, simultaneously, the first light beam and the second light beam respectively corresponding to a main lobe and a side lobe of a beam profile formed by the OPA;
a receiver comprising a plurality of light detection elements configured to respectively receive the first light beam and the second light beam radiated onto an object in the first direction and the second direction from the beam steering device and reflected from the object; and
a processor configured to control the beam steering device to scan the object by using a plurality of scanning lines simultaneously, the plurality of scanning lines being formed by adjusting each of the first direction and the second direction,
wherein the processor is further configured to analyze a time difference and a spatial distribution of a plurality of light beams respectively received by the plurality of light detection elements included in the receiver, based on identification of specific detection elements which receive the first light beam and the second light beam, among the plurality of detection elements, and an amount of light that is detected by each of the specific detection elements, and thereby individually process the first light beam and the second light beam radiated onto the object in the first direction and the second direction, respectively,
wherein the beam steering device is further configured to operate according to a binary phased array profile that uses only two phase values to modulate the phase of light, and
wherein the processor is further configured to obtain the spatial distribution of the plurality of light beams which has peak light intensity values at the two phase values.