A vehicle, Lidar system and method of detecting an object. The Lidar system includes an optical phase array and a mirror. The optical phase array directs a transmitted light beam generated by a laser along a first direction within a first plane. The mirror receives the transmitted light beam from the optical phase array and directs the transmitted light beam along a second direction within a second plane.

Methods and systems are described for adjusting an optical signal. An example device can comprise a plurality of waveguides. The device can comprise an interference structure optically coupled to the plurality of waveguides and configured to receive an optical signal and distribute the optical signal to the plurality of waveguides as a plurality of optical signals. The device can comprise a plurality of phase shifters coupled to corresponding waveguides of the plurality of waveguides and configured to adjust the phase of one or more of the plurality of optical signals. The device can comprise a plurality of emitters optically coupled to corresponding outputs of the plurality of phase shifters and configured to output the adjusted plurality of optical signals. The adjusted plurality of optical signals can be output as light patterns reconfigurable in at least one dimension.

A device for scanning range measurement to an object has a light source that generates an optical output signal having a varying frequency. A plurality of optical processing units are connected optically in parallel to the light source. Each processing unit has an optical distribution matrix with a plurality of optical switches that distribute the optical output signals from the light source selectively to different optical waveguides. A plurality of free space couplers outcouple the optical output signals into the free space, and couple optical output signals, which were reflected on the object, into the associated optical waveguides as optical measurement signals. A polarization sensitive light splitter directs the optical measurement signals detectors that detect a superposition of the optical measurement signals with the optical output signals supplied via a local oscillator light path.

Devices and systems having a vertical waveguide array are provided having a plurality of vertical waveguides disposed on a support substrate in an array, where each vertical waveguide further includes a reflective region positioned to reflect impinging light toward the support substrate, a core region extending from the reflective region to the support substrate, the core region further comprising, a first contact region and a second contact region electrically isolated from one another disposed between the reflective region and the support substrate, and a light concentrator disposed between the first contact region and the second contact region. The first contact region and the second contact region are operable to create a voltage drop across the light concentrator and the light concentrator has a lower refractive index compared to the refractive indexes of the first contact region and the second contact region. Additionally, a confinement structure surrounds the periphery of each waveguide, where the confinement structure has a lower refractive index compared to the refractive indexes of the first contact region and the second contact region.

A photonic crystal optical phased array device has a dispersion engineered slow light waveguide region; a mode coupler region capable of optically coupling an input waveguide to the dispersion engineered slow light waveguide region; and optical antenna regions integrated within the dispersion engineered slow light waveguide region. The dispersion engineered slow light waveguide region has a substantially linear dispersion relation within a predetermined operational bandwidth of the optical phased array device. The optical antenna regions are formed by an alteration of a periodic structure of the photonic crystal and are capable of radiating light out from the dispersion engineered slow light waveguide region.

An optical device includes a first substrate, a second substrate, a plurality of separation walls, one or more optical waveguides, and one or more spacers. The first substrate has a surface which extends in a first direction and a second direction intersecting the first direction. The second substrate faces the first substrate. The plurality of separation walls are positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate and extend in the first direction. The one or more optical waveguides are positioned between the first substrate and the second substrate and include one or more dielectric members which are positioned between the plurality of separation walls and which extend in the first direction. The one or more spacers are directly or indirectly sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate and positioned around the one or more optical waveguides.

An optical phased array device for a LIDAR sensor includes: a light source configured to irradiate a laser beam having a predetermined wavelength band; an input waveguide through which the laser beam irradiated from the light source passes; a slab waveguide disposed at an output end of the input waveguide to branch an optical signal input from the input waveguide; and a channel waveguide configured to distribute and guide the optical signal, branched by the slab waveguide, to M channels and to radiate the optical signal onto a free space. The channel waveguide may include a silia optical waveguide disposed for each of the M channels, and a length of each of the optical waveguides has a length difference ΔL from an adjacent waveguide.

Unidirectional grating-based backlighting includes a light guide and a diffraction grating at a surface of the light guide. The light guide is to guide a light beam and the diffraction grating is configured to couple out a portion of the guided light beam using diffractive coupling and to direct the coupled-out portion away from the light guide as a primary light beam at a principal angular direction. The diffraction grating is to further produce a secondary light beam directed into the light guide at an opposite one of the principal angular direction. The unidirectional grating-based backlighting further includes an angularly selective reflective layer within the light guide adjacent to the light guide surface that is configured to reflectively redirect the diffractively produced, secondary light beam out of the light guide in the direction of the primary light beam.

An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log.sub.2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.

The present disclosure provides a liquid crystal phase shifter array, a driving method thereof, and a laser scanner. The liquid crystal phase shifter array includes a plurality of liquid crystal phase shifter units arranged in array, a first substrate and a second substrate disposed opposite to each other, a liquid crystal layer provided between the first substrate and the second substrate, a first electrode provided on the first substrate, and a second electrode provided on the second substrate. Each liquid crystal phase shifter unit includes a first optical waveguide provided on a side of the first substrate proximal to the liquid crystal layer and arranged to be in direct contact with the liquid crystal layer.