Integrated Acousto-optic Light Beam Steering Device
An acousto-optic device design where the acoustic waves directly scatter and steer optical waves into free space for ranging sensors at low cost and with a small form factor.
Technology No. 20180210
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IP Status: US Patent Issued; Patent No. 11,940,712
Proof of concept developed and characterized.
Applications
- Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)
- Robotics
- Autonomous vehicles
- Drones
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Free-space optical (FSO) communications
- Navigational instruments manufacturing
Technology Overview
Optical beam steering is essential for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and free-space optical (FSO) communications but existing approaches are expensive, require high power consumption, have a large form factor, are slow, or have limited angle range or resolution. Researchers at the University of Minnesota have developed an acouto-optic beam steering device that combines the fast velocity of existing acouto-optics solutions with a large angular span and resolution. The device is fully integrated, with nanofabricated transducers to excite GHz frequency acoustic wave and photonic waveguides to couple laser light.
Phase of Development
TRL: 3-4Proof of concept developed and characterized.
Desired Partnerships
This technology is now available for:- License
- Sponsored research
- Co-development
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Researchers
- Mo Li, PhD Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
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swap_vertical_circlelibrary_booksReferences (1)
- Bingzhao Li, Qixuan Lin & Mo Li (2023), Frequency–angular resolving LiDAR using chip-scale acousto-optic beam steering, Nature, 620, 316–322
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swap_vertical_circlecloud_downloadSupporting documents (0)