CN214798180U - Driving chip for laser radar, laser driving chip and laser radar - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model discloses a driver chip, laser instrument driver chip and laser radar for laser radar. According to the utility model discloses a driver chip for laser radar includes shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of driver and a plurality of power switch tube, shift register is based on one or more output control signal in the signal to a plurality of level shifters that received, level shifter enlargies the control signal that receives and makes the amplified signal of output have higher voltage, the driver is based on received amplified signal and opens power switch tube.

Description

Driving chip for laser radar, laser driving chip and laser radar

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a laser radar especially relates to a chip is used in laser radar's drive.

Background

In the field of autonomous driving, autonomous vehicles may detect surrounding objects by means of a device such as a laser radar (LIDAR). The lidar transmits a laser beam as a detection signal to a surrounding three-dimensional space, and causes the laser beam to be reflected as an echo signal and return after being irradiated to an object in the surrounding space, and the lidar compares the received echo signal with the transmitted detection signal, thereby obtaining related information such as distance, speed, and the like about the surrounding object.

In order to emit a laser beam as described above, the laser radar needs to drive the laser light source using a drive circuit. The commonly used laser light source narrow pulse driving circuit at present is realized by adopting an energy compression principle. Referring to fig. 1, the circuit operates as follows: the pulse switch signal controls the switch-off and the switch-on of the switch device, when the pulse switch signal is switched off, the switch device is switched off, an external power supply charges the energy storage capacitor, the voltage at two ends of the energy storage capacitor rises immediately, after the charging is finished, the voltage at two ends of the energy storage capacitor is equal to the voltage of the external power supply, the energy storage capacitor stores electric energy inside in the form of electric charge, when the pulse switch signal is switched on, a driver instantly promotes the driving capability of the pulse switch signal and quickly turns on the switch device, the energy storage capacitor instantly discharges through a loop formed by the energy storage capacitor and a laser, narrow pulse current is generated to act on the laser, and the laser emits narrow pulse laser.

In the prior art, a driver and a switching device are formed by two discrete devices, the driver is responsible for converting a pulse signal into a high-voltage large-current driving signal, and the switching device is responsible for controlling the on and off of a laser.

The prior art is that because the driver and the switching device are separated, the first: parasitic inductance and parasitic capacitance can be generated between the two discrete devices, and the narrow pulse control capability of the laser can be influenced; secondly, the method comprises the following steps: a driving system is built through discrete devices, and in the driving design of a multi-channel laser such as a 32-channel laser, a large number of discrete devices are needed, so that the volume and the capacity of the driving system are large.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a driving circuit capable of solving the above-mentioned problems.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides a be favorable to miniaturized driver chip for laser radar and have this laser radar.

According to the utility model discloses a driver chip for laser radar includes shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of driver and a plurality of power switch tube, shift register is based on one or more output control signal in the signal to a plurality of level shifters that received, level shifter enlargies the control signal that receives and makes the amplified signal of output have higher voltage, the driver is based on received amplified signal and opens power switch tube.

And, may further include: and the latch is positioned between the level shifter and the driver, receives the amplified signal sent by the level shifter and outputs the amplified signal to the driver.

The shift register may be supplied with a first voltage, the level shifter, the latch, and the driver may be supplied with a second voltage, and the power switch tube may be supplied with a third voltage having a voltage value greater than or equal to a voltage value of the second voltage, the voltage value of the second voltage being greater than the voltage value of the first voltage.

The power switching tubes may be in the shape of a bar, and a plurality of the power switching tubes may be arranged in the width direction of the bar.

And, the signals received by the shift register may include a shift clock signal, a serial data input signal, a reset control signal, a latch clock signal.

Also, the shift register may have a port to serially output the overflowed data.

And, the shift register may output a temperature detection feedback signal to the outside when the detected temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature.

And, the power switch tube may include a MOS structure, and the shift register includes a CMOS structure.

According to the utility model discloses a laser radar of another embodiment includes: the laser radar driving chip described above; and the output ends of the power switch tubes are respectively and electrically connected with the first electrodes of the lasers.

And, the second electrodes of a plurality of the lasers may be electrically connected to each other.

The laser driving chip according to another embodiment of the present invention comprises a shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of latches, a plurality of drivers, and a plurality of power switches, the shift register outputs a control signal to one or more of the plurality of level shifters based on the received signal, the level shifter amplifies the received control signal to output an amplified signal having a higher voltage, the latch receives the amplified signal from the level shifter and outputs the amplified signal to the driver, the driver turns on the power switch tube based on the received amplified signal, the power switch tube is in a strip shape, a plurality of power switch tubes are arranged along the width direction of the strip shape, the signals received by the shift register comprise a shift clock signal, a serial data input signal, a reset control signal and a latch clock signal.

According to the utility model discloses a laser instrument drive chip group of another embodiment includes a plurality of laser instrument drive chips, and laser instrument drive chip includes shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of driver and a plurality of power switch tube respectively, shift register is based on received signal to one or more output control signal in a plurality of level shifters, level shifter amplifies the control signal who receives and makes the amplified signal of output have higher voltage, the driver is based on received amplified signal and opens power switch tube, the signal that shift register received includes shift clock signal, serial data input signal, reset control signal, latches clock signal, and a plurality of shift register serial reception serial of a plurality of laser instrument drive chips are serial to receive serial data input signal.

According to the utility model discloses, can realize shift register, level shifter, latch, driver and power switch tube's single-chip integration through setting up a driver chip, can reduce area, the parasitic effect of present scheme commonly used greatly, provide feasible scheme for laser radar's miniaturization, high efficiency. And, the shift register is integrated in the chip to control the multiple lasers to emit laser simultaneously.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a driving circuit of a laser according to the related art.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driving chip of a multi-channel laser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solution of the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the following disclosure of the present invention is directed to only some embodiments, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive step based on the following embodiments belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the relevant invention and are not limiting of the invention. It should be noted that, for convenience of description, only the portions related to the present invention are shown in the drawings.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a driving chip of a multi-channel laser according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the structure shown in fig. 2, the circuit elements within the dotted line box may be integrated in one driving chip.

Referring to fig. 2, a driving chip of a multi-channel laser according to an embodiment of the present invention is integrated with a shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of latches, a plurality of drivers, and a plurality of power switching transistors.

The shift register may output a control signal to one or more of the plurality of level shifters based on the received signal. Specifically, the shift register may receive a shift clock signal CLK, a serial data input signal DIN, a reset control signal RST, and a latch clock signal RCLK, respectively. The shift clock signal CLK can input a shift clock signal to the shift register; the serial data input signal DIN may cause the shift register to input data based on the shift clock signal CLK, e.g., may be used to shift input serial data at edges of the shift clock signal CLK, which may include rising edges and/or falling edges; the reset control signal RST can empty the data in the shift register; the latch clock signal RCLK may cause the shift registers to output data in parallel. With the shift register as described above, the control signal can be output to one or more of the subsequent level shifters simultaneously.

In addition, the shift register may further output a temperature detection feedback signal to the outside when the detected temperature exceeds a predetermined temperature. The predetermined temperature may be 110 ℃.

The shift register may further include a port for outputting the overflow data to the outside in the form of serial data. Data may be output from the ports in a first-in-first-out manner. For example, when 32-bit data is stored in the 32-bit shift register, if one-bit data is entered, the first-entered one-bit data can be output in the serial data manner.

The ports may be connected to a shift register of another driver chip. Thus, the plurality of shift registers may receive the serial data input signal DIN in a serial manner. The shift clock signal CLK, the reset control signal RST and the latch clock signal RCLK may be input to the plurality of shift registers in parallel. Thus, only four pins can be provided to control a plurality of shift registers. The shift clock signal CLK, the reset control signal RST and the latch clock signal RCLK of the three pins may be input to the plurality of shift registers in parallel, and the data input signal DIN of one pin may be input to the plurality of shift registers in a serial manner.

Further, the shift register may be supplied with a low voltage power supply, for example, a 3.3V power supply. The shift register can be designed by adopting CMOS devices.

The control signals E0-E31 emitted from the shift register may be low voltage signals, and may be low voltage signals of 0-3V.

The control signals E0-E31 may be input to corresponding level shifters, respectively. The level shifter may convert the control signal transmitted from the shift register into a medium voltage signal. For example, it can be converted into a medium voltage signal of 0-18V. The level shifter may employ a well-known voltage shifting device.

The output of the level shifter may be electrically connected to a latch. Thus, the signal converted to a medium voltage at the level shifter may pass through a latch. The latch can make the converted medium voltage signal of the level converter more stable.

The output terminal of the latch may be electrically connected to a driver, and a signal output from the latch may pass through the driver. The driver can instantaneously improve the driving capability of the input signal. For example, the driver may increase the voltage of the input pulse signal to be greater than the turn-on voltage of the power switch tube.

The level shifter, the latch and the driver may be supplied with a medium voltage. For example, 18V power may be supplied.

The output end of the driver can be electrically connected with the power switch tube, so that the signal output by the driver can be used for controlling the power switch tube. For example, the length of the signal sent by the driver may determine the duration of time for turning on (turning on) the power switch.

In terms of structure, the power switch tube can be a power MOS tube with a larger width-length ratio and a smaller on-resistance. In order to meet the manufacturing cost and performance conditions, the conventional power switch tube adopts a square power switch tube. However, if a plurality of square power switch tubes are integrated into one driving chip, the length of the driving chip in the transverse direction may be too long due to too large transverse length occupied by the plurality of square power switch tubes arranged side by side in the transverse direction; alternatively, if the power switching tubes are arranged in a plurality of rows, the circuit structure inside the driver chip may become complicated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the power switch tube is formed in a rectangular shape, and the long sides of the plurality of rectangular power switch tubes are arranged adjacent to each other, so that the driving chip can be prevented from being too long in a certain direction. The overall area of the rectangular power switching tube is preferably not smaller than the area of the rectangular power switching tube. The performance of the power switching tube is related to the area, and it is preferable not to reduce the area of the power switching tube by forming the power switching tube in a rectangular shape. Alternatively, the power switching tubes may not be exactly rectangular, but may be elongated with a width smaller than the length, and the plurality of power switching tubes may be arranged in the width direction of the elongated shape.

Further, the output end of the driver may be electrically connected to the gate of the MOS transistor, the source or the drain of the power switch transistor may be connected to a high voltage power supply (e.g., 50V), and the other of the source and the drain of the power switch transistor may be electrically connected to the positive electrode or the negative electrode of the laser. When the power switch tube is conducted, the laser can emit light under the action of the high-voltage power supply. The signal sent by the driver and the high-voltage power supply determine the energy of the detection signal sent by the laser. The signal from the power switch tube may directly drive one of the multi-channel lasers. For each laser, the time for the laser to send out the detection signal can be controlled by controlling the conduction time of the power switch tube corresponding to the laser.

In the above, the case where the high voltage is 50V and the medium voltage is 18V was explained, but the magnitudes of the high voltage and the medium voltage are not limited thereto. For example, the high voltage may be 20V and the medium voltage a voltage close to or equal to 20V. Accordingly, the voltages supplied to the various devices may not be limited to the values disclosed herein.

As described above, the level shifter, the latch, the driver, and the power switch may be electrically connected in sequence to form a control circuit for a single laser. According to an embodiment of the present application, 32 control circuits as described above may be integrated on the chip for driving the laser radar. Also, the shift register may control the plurality of control circuits as described above according to the received signal. Each of the control circuits may correspond one-to-one to a single laser in a multi-channel laser. Thus, the multichannel lasers can be driven by the driver chip for laser radar as described above.

In the above, the case where the 32-way laser is provided has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be applied to the case of different laser numbers in the same manner. According to the utility model discloses, level shifter, latch, driver and power switch tube's quantity can be the same with the quantity of the laser instrument in the multichannel laser instrument. And, each of the devices is electrically connected to each of the light emitters in a one-to-one correspondence. The number of the shift registers may be 1.

In summary, a driving chip for a laser radar as described above is provided to realize single chip integration of the shift register, the level shifter, the latch, the driver, and the power switch tube, so that the area and the parasitic effect of the currently common schemes can be greatly reduced, and a feasible scheme is provided for miniaturization and high efficiency of the laser radar.

As a result of simulation of the scheme in which the shift register, the level shifters, the latches, the drivers, and the power switching tubes are integrated on one chip, the current pulse for driving the laser can reach 10.79A in 3.58ns, the maximum current can reach 15A, and the on-resistance is 210 milliohms. It can be seen that the driving efficiency is improved by the above technical scheme.

Hereinafter, the laser radar having the above-described driver chip will be described.

The output end of the driving chip, i.e., the output end of each power switch tube, may be electrically connected to the anode of each laser in the multi-channel laser. According to the utility model discloses an embodiment, need not to set up other circuit components between above-mentioned driver chip and laser instrument, consequently can simplify circuit structure greatly.

The multiple lasers of the multi-channel laser may be arranged side by side. The anode of each laser can be connected with the driving chip, and the cathodes of the multi-channel lasers can be grounded together after being electrically connected with each other.

Therefore, according to the utility model discloses a laser radar including driver chip can reduce the size of multichannel lasing structure greatly.

In the present invention, the case where the voltage of a specific magnitude is supplied to the driver chip is explained, but those skilled in the art can understand that the voltages of different magnitudes can be selected according to actual situations.

According to the present invention, the shift register, the level shifters, the latches, the drivers, and the power switch transistors are preferably integrated in one chip. By integrating the above-described devices on a single chip, the space between circuit configurations can be reduced and the area of the currently common driving scheme can be greatly reduced. And when each circuit constitution is set up separately, need more connecting wire, this kind of connecting wire must increase the parasitic effect, can reduce the parasitic effect through the scheme of this application integrated in a chip to can provide feasible scheme for the miniaturization, the high efficiency of lidar.

The embodiments described above with respect to the apparatus and method are merely illustrative, where separate units described may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, i.e. may be located in one location, or may be distributed over a plurality of network units. The technical scheme of the utility model can be realized by selecting some or all modules according to the actual needs.

Claims (10)

1. A driver chip for a laser radar, characterized in that,

comprises a shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of drivers and a plurality of power switch tubes,

the shift register outputs a control signal to one or more of the plurality of level shifters based on the received signal,

the level shifter amplifies the received control signal to output an amplified signal having a higher voltage,

the driver turns on the power switch tube based on the received amplification signal.

2. The driver chip for lidar according to claim 1, further comprising:

and the latch is positioned between the level shifter and the driver, receives the amplified signal sent by the level shifter and outputs the amplified signal to the driver.

3. The driver chip for lidar according to claim 2, wherein the driver chip for lidar further comprises a first driver chip,

the shift register is supplied with a first voltage,

the level shifter, latch and driver are supplied with a second voltage,

the power switch tube is supplied with a third voltage,

the voltage value of the third voltage is greater than or equal to the voltage value of the second voltage, and the voltage value of the second voltage is greater than the voltage value of the first voltage.

4. The driver chip for lidar according to claim 1, wherein the driver chip for lidar further comprises a first driver chip,

the power switch tubes are in a strip shape, and the power switch tubes are arranged along the width direction of the strip shape.

5. The driver chip for lidar according to claim 1, wherein the driver chip for lidar further comprises a first driver chip,

the signals received by the shift register comprise a shift clock signal, a serial data input signal, a reset control signal and a latch clock signal.

6. The driver chip for lidar according to claim 1, wherein the driver chip for lidar further comprises a first driver chip,

the shift register has a port for serially outputting the overflowed data.

7. The driver chip for lidar according to claim 1, wherein the driver chip for lidar further comprises a first driver chip,

the power switch tube comprises an MOS structure, and the shift register comprises a CMOS structure.

8. A lidar, comprising:

the driver chip for laser radar according to any one of claims 1 to 7;

a plurality of lasers, each of which is configured to emit light,

the output ends of the power switch tubes are respectively and electrically connected with the first electrodes of the lasers.

9. A laser driving chip is characterized in that,

comprises a shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of latches, a plurality of drivers and a plurality of power switch tubes,

the shift register outputs a control signal to one or more of the plurality of level shifters based on the received signal,

the level shifter amplifies the received control signal to output an amplified signal having a higher voltage,

the latch receives the amplified signal from the level shifter and outputs the amplified signal to the driver,

the driver turns on the power switch tube based on the received amplified signal,

the power switch tubes are in a strip shape, a plurality of power switch tubes are arranged along the width direction of the strip shape,

the signals received by the shift register comprise a shift clock signal, a serial data input signal, a reset control signal and a latch clock signal.

10. A laser driving chip set is characterized in that,

comprises a plurality of laser driving chips and a plurality of laser driving chips,

the laser driving chip comprises a shift register, a plurality of level shifters, a plurality of drivers and a plurality of power switch tubes,

the shift register outputs a control signal to one or more of the plurality of level shifters based on the received signal,

the level shifter amplifies the received control signal to output an amplified signal having a higher voltage,

the driver turns on the power switch tube based on the received amplified signal,

the signals received by the shift register comprise a shift clock signal, a serial data input signal, a reset control signal and a latch clock signal,

the plurality of shift registers of the plurality of laser driver chips receive the serial data input signal in series.

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