Disclosure of Invention
In view of at least one of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present disclosure provides a transmitting system usable with a lidar comprising:
An area array light source;
a telecentric lens group comprising a first lens and a second lens,
the first lens is arranged close to the area array light source and is configured to deflect the laser beams from the area array light source and irradiate the laser beams onto the second lens, and the second lens is configured to collimate and emit the deflected laser beams.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the area-array light source includes a plurality of edge-emitting lasers.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the area array light source includes a substrate on which the plurality of edge-emitting lasers are disposed, wherein a distance d of the substrate from the first lens satisfies the following relationship:
0<d≤1/2f
Wherein f is the focal length of the telecentric lens group.
According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the area-array light source includes a substrate on which the plurality of edge-emitting lasers are disposed, the edge-emitting lasers including:
an edge-emitting laser chip;
A substrate on which the edge-emitting laser chip is disposed, the substrate having an electrode thereon configured to power the laser chip.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the edge-emitting laser chip has a light emitting face parallel to the substrate, a light emitting direction being directed away from the substrate.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the edge-emitting laser chip has a light emitting face, the light emitting face being perpendicular to the substrate,
The transmitting system further comprises a reflecting mirror, and the reflecting mirror is arranged on the downstream of the light path of the light-emitting surface to receive and reflect the laser beam from the light-emitting surface, so that the reflected laser beam is perpendicular to the substrate.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the edge-emitting laser is coupled to the substrate through an electrode at the bottom of the base on a surface opposite to the edge-emitting laser chip.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the edge-emitting laser is coupled to the substrate through an electrode located at a side of the base on a surface adjacent to the base with the edge-emitting laser chip.
The present disclosure also relates to a lidar comprising:
The emitting system as described above, configured to emit a detection laser beam;
A receiving system configured to receive an echo of the detection laser beam after reflection on the object.
the present disclosure also relates to a laser emission method usable for a laser radar, including:
Emitting a laser beam by an area array light source;
deflecting the laser beam by a first lens;
And collimating the deflected laser beam through a second lens, and emitting the collimated laser beam.
according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the area array light source includes a plurality of edge-emitting lasers, and the step of emitting the laser beam by the area array light source includes: laser beams are emitted by the plurality of edge-emitting lasers.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the laser emission method is implemented by the emission system as described above.
The laser radar transmitting system disclosed by the invention solves the problem of effective transmission of an area array light source formed by an edge-emitting laser by using a telecentric light path design, reduces the space required by the light path and is beneficial to realizing compact structure of the laser radar. The area array light source with high efficiency is realized by using the simple packaging of the existing mature device. In addition, the use of the area array light source in a laser radar transmitting system greatly reduces the difficulty in assembling and adjusting the laser radar.
Detailed Description
in the following, only certain exemplary embodiments are briefly described. As those skilled in the art can appreciate, the described embodiments can be modified in various different ways, without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
In the description of the present disclosure, it is to be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "straight", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", and the like, indicate orientations or positional relationships based on those shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of description and simplicity of description, but do not indicate or imply that the device or element being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed in a particular orientation, and be operated, and therefore should not be considered as limiting the present disclosure. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, features defined as "first", "second", may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the described features. In the description of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means two or more unless specifically limited otherwise.
The preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it should be understood that the preferred embodiments described herein are merely for purposes of illustrating and explaining the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.
throughout the description of the present disclosure, it is to be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection, either mechanically, electrically, or otherwise in communication with one another; either directly or indirectly through intervening media, either internally or in any other relationship. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present disclosure can be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as appropriate.
In the present disclosure, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the first feature is "on" or "under" the second feature, and may comprise the first and second features being in direct contact, or the first and second features being not in direct contact but being in contact with each other by means of another feature therebetween. Also, the first feature being "on," "above" and "over" the second feature includes the first feature being directly on and obliquely above the second feature, or merely indicating that the first feature is at a higher level than the second feature. A first feature being "under," "below," and "beneath" a second feature includes the first feature being directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply meaning that the first feature is at a lesser level than the second feature.
Fig. 5 illustrates a transmission system 10 that may be used in a lidar according to a first embodiment of the disclosure, described in detail below with reference to fig. 5.
As shown in fig. 5, the emission system 10 includes an area array light source 11 and a telecentric lens group 12. In the present disclosure, the area array light source is, for example, a light source in which a plurality of light emitting devices are disposed on one substrate, the area array light source 11 includes, for example, a substrate 111 and a plurality of lasers 112 disposed on the substrate 111, the plurality of lasers 112 are, for example, two-dimensionally distributed on the substrate 111, and the lasers 112 emit a light beam L1.
As shown in fig. 5, the telecentric lens group 12 includes a first lens 121 and a second lens 122, wherein the first lens 121 is disposed near the area array light source 11, and is capable of receiving the laser beam L1 from the area array light source 11, deflecting the laser beam to generate a light beam L2, and the light beam L2 is incident on the second lens 122, and the second lens is, for example, a collimating lens, and is configured to collimate and emit the deflected laser beam.
It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the first and second lenses, each may be a single lens or a lens group, and are within the scope of the present disclosure.
according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first lens 121 is a positive lens, and is disposed close to the area array light source 11, for example, the distance between the two is as small as possible; the second lens 122 coincides with the optical axis of the first lens 121, and is disposed at a distance that can be flexibly set according to the size requirement of the entire laser radar. The first lens 121 may be composed of, for example, a single lens, and the incident surface and the exit surface may be coated with a high-transmittance dielectric film.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the laser 112 is, for example, an edge-emitting laser, and the plurality of edge-emitting lasers are disposed on the substrate 111. According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance d between the substrate 111 and the first lens 121 satisfies the following relationship:
0<d≤1/2f
Where f is the focal length of the telecentric lens group 12.
The laser radar transmitting system disclosed by the invention solves the problem of effective transmission of an area array light source formed by an edge-emitting laser by using a telecentric light path design, reduces the space required by the light path and is beneficial to realizing compact structure of the laser radar. The existing mature device is utilized to realize a high-efficiency area array light source. In addition, the use of the area array light source in a laser radar transmitting system greatly reduces the difficulty in assembling and adjusting the laser radar.
As described above, the laser 112 is, for example, an edge-emitting laser. Fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C illustrate a package structure of an edge-emitting laser according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, where fig. 6A is a rendering view of the edge-emitting laser viewed from a rear side, fig. 6B is a perspective view of the edge-emitting laser viewed from the rear side, and fig. 6C is a perspective view of the edge-emitting laser viewed from a front side. As described in detail below.
As shown in fig. 6A, the laser 112 includes a substrate 114 and an edge-emitting laser chip 115. The substrate 114 is made of, for example, silicon (e.g., high-resistance silicon), ceramic, or the like. The substrate 114 is used to carry the edge-emitting laser chip 115.
as shown in fig. 6C, the edge-emitting laser chip 115 includes an emitting end face 1151, and the emitting end face 1151 is, for example, flush with one of the end faces of the substrate 114 (end face near the viewer in fig. 6C). When the edge-emitting laser chip 115 is energized or applied with a voltage, a laser beam will be emitted from the light-emitting surface area of the light-emitting end face 1151.
Fig. 6D shows a schematic diagram of the edge-emitting laser chip 115, which has a specific light-emitting surface on the light-emitting end surface 1151, and emits a laser beam having a divergence angle θ in the slow axis direction of the light-emitting surface and a divergence angle α in the fast axis direction of the light-emitting surface.
As shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the substrate 114 has electrodes thereon, including a positive electrode 1141 and a negative electrode 1142, and the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 are configured to supply power to the edge-emitting laser chip 115. The positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 are, for example, metal plates or metal thin layers (e.g., gold foils) attached to the surface of the substrate 114 by, for example, electroplating. As shown in fig. 6A, the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 are separated from each other by a separator 116, and the separator 16 is, for example, an integral part of the substrate 114 without a metal plate or a thin metal layer thereon, thereby separating the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142. Alternatively, the spacer 116 may be a single non-conductive layer, such as a silicon dioxide layer.
as shown in fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 may be provided on the same surface of the substrate 114 as the edge-emitting laser chip 115 and on an end surface of the substrate parallel to the light-emitting end surface 1151. For example, the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 each extend, for example, over both surfaces of the substrate 114, i.e., the top surface and the end surface on the side close to the viewer in fig. 6A and 6B, for convenience of mounting. Wherein the portion of the electrode soldered to the circuit board is located on the end face of the substrate. In fig. 6A, 6B and 6C, the lower surface of the laser chip 115 is attached to the negative electrode 1142 at the same potential as the negative electrode 1142; the upper surface of the laser chip 115 is electrically connected to the positive electrode 1141 by a wire (such as a gold wire) 117, and the potential is the same as that of the positive electrode 1141. The positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 are spaced apart by a substrate having no electrode material (e.g., the spacer 116). When the laser is energized, a voltage difference exists between the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142, thereby driving the laser chip 115 to emit a laser beam from the light-emitting end surface 1151 thereof. In addition, the polarity of the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 may be interchanged, which is also within the scope of the present disclosure.
Fig. 7A and 7B show schematic views in which the above-described laser 112 is provided on the substrate 111. Referring to fig. 6A, 6B and 6C, it can be seen that the laser 112 is soldered on the substrate 111 through the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 on the end surface of the substrate 114. It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the substrate 111 is, for example, a PCB board, on which pads are provided for soldering together the positive and negative electrodes of the laser 112 to supply power thereto. As can be seen in fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the light-emitting end face 1151 of the laser chip is parallel to the substrate 111, and the light-emitting direction is directed away from the substrate 111.
Fig. 7A and 7B show a case where a single column of lasers 112 is provided on the substrate 111. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that a two-dimensional area array light source may also be formed by arranging a plurality of rows of lasers on the substrate 111. As shown in fig. 7C, a plurality of rows of lasers 112 are arranged on a substrate 111 to form a two-dimensional area array light source. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, light emitting end surfaces 1151 of laser chips 115 in the plurality of lasers 112 on the substrate 111 are shifted from each other in the light emitting surface fast axis direction, as shown in fig. 7C. This arrangement is advantageous for improving the angular resolution of the lidar. In addition, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the structures of the lead 117, the partition 116, and the like are omitted in fig. 7C for the sake of clarity.
in fig. 6A, 6B, 6C and fig. 7A and 7B, the light emitting surface of the edge-emitting laser chip is parallel to the substrate. Fig. 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate a laser according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The following focuses on the differences between the lasers of fig. 8A, 8B and 8C and the lasers of fig. 6A, 6B and 6C.
as shown in fig. 8A, 8B and 8C, the laser 112 has a substrate 14 and an edge-emitting laser chip 115 carried on the substrate 14. The substrate 14 has electrodes thereon, including a positive electrode 1141 and a negative electrode 1142, for supplying power to the edge-emitting laser chip 115. As shown, according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrodes are distributed on three surfaces of the substrate 14, for example: on the same surface as the edge-emitting laser chip 115; on the surface opposite to the edge-emitting laser chip (i.e., the bottom); on an end facet parallel to the emitting facet end 1151 of the edge-emitting laser chip 115 (shown more clearly in fig. 8C). The positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 are separated from each other by a spacer 116, and the spacer 116 is, for example, an integral part of the substrate 114 without a metal plate or a thin metal layer thereon, so as to separate the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142. Alternatively, the spacer 116 may be a single non-conductive layer, such as a silicon dioxide layer. Also, the edge-emitting laser chip 115 is attached to, for example, the negative electrode 1142, and the upper surface thereof is electrically connected to the positive electrode 1141 by a wire (such as a gold wire) 117, thereby forming a voltage difference.
The package structure of the laser of fig. 8A, 8B and 8C. Fig. 9A and 9B show schematic views in which the laser 112 of fig. 8A, 8B, and 8C is mounted on the substrate 111, wherein the laser 12 is soldered on the substrate 111 via an electrode located at the bottom of the base (the electrode located at the bottom of the base and the edge-emitting laser chip are located on the surface opposite to the base) such that the light-emitting end face 1151 of the edge-emitting laser chip 115 is perpendicular to the substrate 111. At this time, the direction of the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting end face 1151 will be substantially parallel to the substrate 111. The package structure of the laser shown in fig. 8A-8C is advantageous for reducing the package height of the laser.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 9A and 9B, the emission system 10 further includes a reflecting mirror 118, and the reflecting mirror 118 is disposed downstream in the optical path of the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting end surface 1151 to receive the emitted laser beam from the light-emitting end surface 1151 and reflect the emitted laser beam so that the reflected laser beam is perpendicular to the substrate. Preferably, the angle between the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting end surface 1151 and the normal of the reflecting mirror 118 is 45 °. Fig. 9C schematically shows an optical path diagram. Preferably, the reflector 118 is fixed on the substrate 111 by means of adhesive bonding or the like. A single column of lasers 112 and a single column of mirrors 118 are shown in fig. 9A and 9B disposed on substrate 111. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that multiple rows of lasers 112 and corresponding multiple rows of mirrors 118 may also be provided on substrate 111, as shown in FIG. 9D, similar to the arrangement described in FIG. 7C. Fig. 9D is different from that shown in fig. 7C in that the laser light emission direction of the laser 112 is parallel to the substrate 111, the fast axis direction of the light emission surface of the laser chip 115 is perpendicular to the substrate (the fast axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface), and the direction of the emitted laser light after being reflected by the mirror 118 is perpendicular to the substrate 111. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, light emitting end surfaces 1151 of laser chips 115 in the plurality of lasers 112 on the substrate 111 are shifted from each other in the light emitting surface slow axis direction, as shown in fig. 9D. This arrangement is advantageous for improving the angular resolution of the lidar. In addition, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the structures of the lead 117, the partition 116, and the like are omitted in fig. 9D for clarity.
fig. 10A, 10B, and 10C illustrate a laser 112 according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. The following focuses on the differences from the other embodiments.
as shown in fig. 10A, the laser 112 has a substrate 114 and an edge-emitting laser chip 115 carried on the substrate 114. The substrate 14 has electrodes thereon, including a positive electrode 1141 and a negative electrode 1142, for supplying power to the edge-emitting laser chip 115. As shown, according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the electrodes are distributed on both surfaces of the substrate 14, for example: on the same surface as the edge-emitting laser chip 115; on the surface (i.e., the side) adjacent to the edge-emitting laser chip. The positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142 are separated from each other by a spacer 116, and the spacer 116 is, for example, an integral part of the substrate 114 without a metal plate or a thin metal layer thereon, so as to separate the positive electrode 1141 and the negative electrode 1142. Alternatively, the spacer 116 may be a single non-conductive layer, such as a silicon dioxide layer. Also, the edge-emitting laser chip 115 is attached to, for example, the negative electrode 1142, and the upper surface thereof is electrically connected to the positive electrode 1141 by a wire (such as a gold wire) 117, thereby forming a voltage difference.
fig. 11A and 11B are schematic views showing the laser of fig. 10A, 10B, and 10C mounted on a substrate 111, and as shown, the edge-emitting laser 112 is soldered to the substrate 111 by an electrode located at a side portion of the substrate on a surface adjacent to the substrate with the edge-emitting laser chip. According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 11A and 11B, the emission system 10 further includes a reflecting mirror 118, and the reflecting mirror 118 is disposed downstream in the optical path of the light-emitting end face 1151 to receive the laser beam from the light-emitting end face 1151 and reflect it such that the reflected laser beam is perpendicular to the substrate. Preferably, the angle between the laser beam emitted from the light-emitting end surface 1151 and the normal of the reflecting mirror 118 is 45 °. Fig. 11C schematically shows an optical path diagram. Preferably, the reflector 118 is fixed on the substrate 111 by means of adhesive bonding or the like. A single column of lasers 112 and a single column of mirrors 118 are shown disposed on substrate 111 in fig. 11A and 11B. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that multiple rows of lasers 112 and corresponding multiple rows of mirrors 118 may also be provided on substrate 111, as shown in FIG. 11D, similar to the arrangement described in FIG. 7C. Fig. 11D is different from fig. 7C in that the laser light emission direction of the laser 112 is parallel to the substrate 111, the slow axis direction of the light emission surface of the laser chip 115 is perpendicular to the substrate (the slow axis direction is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface), and the direction of the emitted laser light after being reflected by the mirror 118 is perpendicular to the substrate 111. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, light emitting end surfaces 1151 of laser chips 115 in the plurality of lasers 112 on the substrate 111 are shifted from each other in the light emitting surface fast axis direction, as shown in fig. 11D. This arrangement is advantageous for improving the angular resolution of the lidar. In addition, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the structures of the lead 117, the partition 116, and the like are omitted in fig. 11D for clarity.
fig. 12 shows a lidar according to one embodiment of the present disclosure including a transmitting system 10 as described above and a receiving system. Wherein the emitting system is configured to emit a probe laser beam, as shown in the figure, the probe laser beam is diffusely reflected when encountering an obstacle, and an echo is incident to the receiving system after a part of the probe laser beam is reflected. The signal processing device in the laser radar can process the received reflected echo to further form a digital signal, determine the position, distance, angle, reflectivity and other related information of the obstacle, and form point cloud data of the laser radar for further data processing.
Fig. 13 illustrates a method 200 of lasing that may be used for a lidar according to one embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in fig. 13, the laser emission method 200 includes:
step S201, emitting laser beams by an area array light source;
Step S202, deflecting the laser beam through a first lens;
and step S103, collimating the deflected laser beam through a second lens, and emitting the collimated laser beam.
according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the area array light source includes a plurality of edge-emitting lasers, and the step of emitting the laser beam by the area array light source includes: laser beams are emitted by the plurality of edge-emitting lasers. The control unit in the laser radar can control the plurality of edge-emitting lasers in the area array light source to emit laser beams all or partially at the same time.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein the laser emission method is implemented by the emission system as described above.
the laser radar transmitting system disclosed by the invention solves the problem of effective transmission of an area array light source formed by an edge-emitting laser by using a telecentric light path design, reduces the space required by the light path and is beneficial to realizing compact structure of the laser radar. The area array light source with high efficiency is realized by using the simple packaging of the existing mature device. In addition, the use of the area array light source in a laser radar transmitting system greatly reduces the difficulty in assembling and adjusting the laser radar.
The above description is only exemplary of the present disclosure and should not be taken as limiting the disclosure, as any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should be included in the scope of protection of the present disclosure.
finally, it should be noted that: although the present disclosure has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the embodiments and/or equivalents thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.