A plurality of one-dimensional planar beam forming and steering optical phased array chips form a two-dimensional-scanning solid-state lidar, enabling manufacturing of threedimensional mapping time-of-flight lidars at high yield and low cost resulting from the simplicity of said one-dimensional optical phased array chips.

Three-dimensional-mapping two-dimensional-scanning LIDAR based on one-dimensional-steering optical phased arrays and method of using same

A lidar-based system and method are used for the solid state beamforming and steering of laser beams using optical phased array (OPA) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and the detection of laser beams using photodetectors. Transmitter and receiver electronics, power management electronics, control electronics, data conversion electronics and processing electronics are also included in the system and used in the method. Laser pulses beamformed by the OPA PIC reflect from objects in the field of view (FOV) of said OPA, and are detected by a detector or a set of detectors. A lidar system includes at least one lidar, and any subset and any number of complementary sensors, data processing/communication/storage modules, and a balance of system for supplying power, protecting, connecting, and mounting the components of said system. Direct correlation between the 3D point cloud generated by the lidar and the color images captured by an RGB (Red, Green, Blue) video camera can be achieved by using an optical beam splitter that sends optical signals simultaneously to both sensors. A lidar system may contain a plurality of lidar sensors, a lidar sensor may contain a plurality of optical transmitters, and an optical transmitter may contain a plurality of OPA PICs.

Optical phased array lidar system and method of using same

A one-dimensional planar beam forming and steering optical phased array chip is a simple building block of a two-dimensional beam forming and steering solid-state lidar, enabling manufacturing of said lidars at high yield and low cost through the use of a plurality of said chips. Innovative photonic integrated circuit chip architectures that follow design for manufacturing rules enable said building blocks.

Planar beam forming and steering optical phased array chip and method of using same

A method for transmitting a plurality of input streams from a transmitting unit to a receiving unit receives the plurality of input data streams and each of the plurality of input data streams are processed to generate a parallel pair of data streams including an in-phase stream (I) and a quadrature-phase stream (Q) for each of the plurality of input data streams. A first and second parallel pair of data streams are modulated with a selected one of at least three mutually orthogonal functions at a first and second signal widths, respectively, using a predefined modulation process to generate a plurality of first data sub-layers and a plurality of second data sub-layers. A plurality of composite data stream are generated by overlaying the first data subs-layers with the second data sub-layers at a preconfigured overlay offset. The plurality of composite data streams are overlapped by a predetermined overlap amount and placed on a wavelength of a communications link. Intersymbol interference is controlled between the plurality of composite data streams responsive to the predefined modulation process used to create the first and second data sub-layers.

System and method for communication using orbital angular momentum with multiple layer overlay modulation

A vehicle information system for passenger vehicles, such as automobiles and aircraft, and methods for manufacturing and using same. The vehicle information system includes a broadband communication system with a broadband antenna system and a broadband control system. Exploiting the advent of high-speed connectivity solutions, the vehicle information system supports a low-cost, high-capacity bidirectional data connection with a terrestrial content system and thereby can be established as another node on the “Worldwide Net.” The vehicle information system likewise provides wireless access points for communicating with passengers' personal media devices. As desired, the vehicle information system can support mobile telephone connectivity and/or presentation of live integrated digital television (IDTV) programming. The vehicle information system thereby provides enhanced information, entertainment, and communication services during travel.

System and method for receiving broadcast content on a mobile platform during travel

A photonic device for controlling phased array beam direction includes an electro-optic substrate; a plurality of waveguides formed in the substrate, each of which is capable of simultaneously propagating light signals with orthogonal polarizations; an input waveguide for inputting into each one of the plurality of waveguides a pair of copropagating polarized light signals having orthogonal polarizations and different frequencies; a plurality of electrodes on the substrate configured to phase shift the signals traveling through each waveguide by a different amount in response to a common applied voltage, thereby creating phase shifted polarized signals; and means for combining the phase shifted polarized signals within each one of the waveguides and propagating these combined signal to an antenna element The basic operating principle of the invention is based on the differential phase shift between optical waves of orthogonal polarizations traveling in an electro-optic optical waveguide This differential phase shift is directly proportional to the voltage applied to a control electrode and to the length of that electrode If the two optical waves are slightly offset in optical frequency, they produce a beat frequency when photodetected whose phase shift equals the optical differential phase shift An array of such phase shifters forms the basis for the photonic beam controller of the invention

Suwat Thaniyavarn

Papers

Phased array beam controller using integrated electro-optic circuits