Increasing the detection range of non-scanning solid-state-LiDAR systems using beam shaping

authored by

Zhuoqun Dai, Max Caspar Sundermeier, Tobias Glück, Philipp Findling, Roland Lachmayer

Abstract

High-performance LiDAR systems play an important role in autonomous driving by providing a high-resolution 3D representation of the driving environment. Complementing version-based object detection, LiDAR systems must furnish reliable and appropriate information for the vehicle. Current LiDAR systems for vehicle applications prefer to be solid-state to achieve high system robustness. However, the lack of beam steering limits the beam flux density and thus the detection range of a solid-state LiDAR system. One of the main reasons is that the emitted irradiant flux must be distributed to a large number of pixels of a focal plane array detector, which results in a single pixel receiving only a small optical power. To increase the optical power reaching at the detector, this paper investigates the influence of different beam shaping methods on the detection range. Subsequently, an irradiation pattern to maximize the detection range for solid-state LiDAR systems is determined. Based on the determined irradiation pattern, we propose an optical concept for both the emitter and detector sides of the solid-state LiDAR system.

Organisation(s)

Institute of Motion Engineering and Mechanism Design
PhoenixD: Photonics, Optics, and Engineering - Innovation Across Disciplines

Type

Conference contribution

No. of pages

9

Publication date

14.03.2023

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials, Condensed Matter Physics, Computer Science Applications, Applied Mathematics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2648721 (Access: Closed)