| CPC G01S 17/931 (2020.01) [G01S 7/4817 (2013.01); G02B 26/0841 (2013.01); G02B 26/121 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |
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1. An apparatus, the apparatus being part of a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) module of a vehicle and comprising:
a semiconductor integrated circuit comprising a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) formed on a surface of a silicon substrate, a light source providing collimated light along a first axis and a controller, the MEMS comprising a polygon assembly, the polygon assembly comprising:
a polygon including at least three light reflecting facets tilted with respect to the first axis such that all three light reflecting facets receive the collimated light at the same time;
a support structure connected to the polygon and forming a stack with the polygon along a rotation axis in the same direction as the first axis;
an axial connection structure extending along the rotation axis, connecting the silicon substrate to the polygon, with the support structure connected to the axial connection structure between and separated from the silicon substrate and the polygon, such that the polygon and support structure are vertically separated along the rotation axis;
wherein the support structure comprises a plurality of radial portions extending from the axial connection structure;
wherein the light reflecting facets are tilted at a tilting angle to reflect light at an angle away from the first axis;
a plurality of anchors formed on the surface of the substrate; and
a plurality of actuators, each actuator of the plurality of actuators being connected between an end of one of the radial portions opposite another end of the radial portion connected to the axial portion and an anchor of the plurality of anchors,
wherein the controller is configured to:
determine a target rotation angle of the polygon around the rotation axis such that an aggregate field of view of the at least three facets provides 360 degrees of horizontal coverage;
determine a voltage based on the target rotation angle; and
apply the voltage across each actuator of the plurality of actuators, wherein the voltage causes each actuator to exert a torque on the support structure to rotate the polygon around the rotation axis by the target rotation angle to reflect light emitted by a light source out of the LiDAR module or to reflect light received by the LiDAR module to a receiver.
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