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
Top: Integrated light beam steering device. Bottom Left: SEM image of the acoustic element. Bottom Right: 3D LiDAR image
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IP Status: US Patent Issued; Patent No. 11,940,712

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: 3-4
Proof 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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