US 12,449,712 B2
Optical frequency comb based parallel FM LIDAR
Anton Lukashchuk, Lausanne (CH); Johann Riemensberger, St-Sulpice (CH); and Tobias Kippenberg, Aran (CH)
Assigned to ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE, Lausanne (CH)
Appl. No. 17/778,457
Filed by ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE, Lausanne (CH)
PCT Filed Nov. 22, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/082307
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 20, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/098975, PCT Pub. Date May 27, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0413354 A1, Dec. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. G02F 1/35 (2006.01); G01S 17/58 (2006.01)
CPC G02F 1/3515 (2013.01) [G01S 17/58 (2013.01); G02F 2203/54 (2013.01); G02F 2203/56 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A device for light detection and ranging (LIDAR), the device comprising:
a laser light source configured to generate first laser light having a first laser frequency which is frequency modulated with a first frequency modulation;
a non-linear optical element configured to receive the first laser light and generate therefrom second laser light having a comb-like frequency spectrum with a plurality of second laser frequencies which are each frequency modulated with a second frequency modulation defined by the first frequency modulation, with a frequency excursion of the second frequency modulation being smaller than a spacing of the second laser frequencies;
a diffractive element configured to spatially separate the second laser light according to the second laser frequencies and direct the spatially separated second laser light towards a ranging region, with each of the second laser frequencies being directed towards a corresponding spatially distinct target position in the ranging region; and
a detector configured to receive reflections of the second laser light from the ranging region and to measure, by simultaneously detecting a frequency modulation of the reflections for each of the second laser frequencies, at least one of a distance and a velocity at the target position corresponding to the second laser frequency.