Lidar, a technology at the heart of autonomous driving and robotic mobility, performs 3D imaging of a complex scene by measuring the time of flight of returning light pulses. Many technological challenges, including enhancement of the observation field of view (FoV), acceleration of the imaging frame rate, improvement of the ambiguity range, reduction of fabrication cost, and component size, must be simultaneously addressed so that lidar technology reaches the performance needed to strongly impact the global market. We propose an innovative solution to address the problem of wide FoV and extended unambiguous range using an acousto-optic modulator that rapidly scans a large-area metasurface deflector. We further exploit a multiplexing illumination technique traditionally deployed in the context of telecommunication theory to extend the ambiguity range and to drastically improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the measured signal. Compacting our metasurface-scanning lidar system to chip-scale dimension would open new and exciting perspectives, eventually relevant to the autonomous vehicles and robotic industries.
This work is based on the concept of integrating metasurfaces as passive elements to enhance LiDAR capabilities. We demonstrated a proof-of-concept of a LiDAR imaging system capable of acquire images at 1 million of frames per second using a faster scanner active device with a field of view up to 150°X150°. The active element redirects the light into a metasurface deflector which enhances the field of view. MHz imaging rate and 3D imaging is demonstrated. Finally, we discuss applications and limitations of using such approach, which is a strong candidate to pave the way into full autonomous vehicles.
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