Silicon-based optical phased array with a reconfigurable aperture for“gaze”scanning of LiDAR

Light detection and ranging(LiDAR)serves as one of the key components in the fields of autonomous driving,surveying mapping,and environment detection.Conventionally,dense points clouds are pursued by LiDAR systems to provide high-definition 3D images.However,the LiDAR is typically used to produce abundant yet redundant data for scanning the homogeneous background of scenes,resulting in power waste and excessive processing time.Hence,it is highly desirable for a LiDAR system to“gaze”at the target of interest by dense scanning and rough sparse scans on the uninteresting areas.Here,we propose a LiDAR structure based on an optical phased array(OPA)with reconfigurable apertures to achieve such a gaze scanning function.By virtue of the cascaded optical switch integrated on the OPA chip,a 64-,128-,192-,or 256-channel antenna can be selected discretionarily to construct an aperture with variable size.The corresponding divergence angles for the far-field beam are 0.32°,0.15°,0.10°,and 0.08°,respectively.The reconfigurable-aperture OPA enables the LiDAR system to perform rough scans via the large beam spots prior to fine scans of the target by using the tiny beam spots.In this way,the OPA-based LiDAR can perform the“gaze”function and achieve full-range scanning efficiently.The scanning time and power consumption can be reduced by 1/4 while precise details of the target are maintained.Finally,we embed the OPA into a frequency-modulated continuous-wave(FMCW)system to demonstrate the“gaze”function in beam scanning.Experiment results show that the number of precise scanning points can be reduced by 2/3 yet can obtain the reasonable outline of the target.The reconfigurable-aperture OPA(RA-OPA)can be a promising candidate for the applications of rapid recognition,like car navigation and robot vision.

On-chip generation of Bessel–Gaussian beam via concentrically distributed grating arrays for long-range sensing

Bessel beam featured with self-healing is essential to the optical sensing applications in the obstacle scattering environment.Integrated on-chip generation of the Bessel beam outperforms the conventional structure by small size,robustness,and alignment-free scheme.However,the maximum propagation distance(Z_(max))provided by the existing approaches cannot support long-range sensing,and thus,it restricts its potential applications.In this work,we propose an integrated silicon photonic chip with unique structures featured with concentrically distributed grating arrays to generate the Bessel-Gaussian beam with a long propagation distance.The spot with the Bessel function profile is measured at 10.24m without optical lenses,and the photonic chip’s operation wavelength can be continuously performed from 1500 to 1630 nm.To demonstrate the functionality of the generated Bessel-Gaussian beam,we also experimentally measure the rotation speeds of a spinning object via the rotational Doppler Effect and the distance through the phase laser ranging principle.The maximum error of the rotation speed in this experiment is measured to be 0.05%,indicating the minimum error in the current reports.By the compact size,low cost,and mass production potential of the integrated process,our approach is promising to readily enable the Bessel-Gaussian beam in widespread optical communication and micro-manipulation applications.

Efficient option pricing with a unary-based photonic computing chip and generative adversarial learning

In the modern financial industry system,the structure of products has become more and more complex,and the bottleneck constraint of classical computing power has already restricted the development of the financial industry.Here,we present a photonic chip that implements the unary approach to European option pricing,in combination with the quantum amplitude estimation algorithm,to achieve quadratic speedup compared to classical Monte Carlo methods.The circuit consists of three modules:one loading the distribution of asset prices,one computing the expected payoff,and a third performing the quantum amplitude estimation algorithm to introduce speedups.In the distribution module,a generative adversarial network is embedded for efficient learning and loading of asset distributions,which precisely captures market trends.This work is a step forward in the development of specialized photonic processors for applications in finance,with the potential to improve the efficiency and quality of financial services.

Wide-steering-angle high-resolution optical phased array

Optical phased array(OPA)technology is considered a promising solution for solid-state beam steering to supersede the traditional mechanical beam steering.As a key component of the LIDAR system for long-range detection,OPAs featuring a wide steering angle and high resolution without beam aliasing are highly desired.However,a wide steering range requires a waveguide pitch less than half of the wavelength,which is easily subjected to cross talk.Besides,high resolution requires a large aperture,and it is normally achieved by a high count number of waveguides,which complicates the control system.To solve the mentioned issues,we design two high-performance 128-channel OPAs fabricated on a multilayered SiN-on-SOI platform.Attributed to the nonuniform antenna pitch,only 128 waveguides are used to achieve a 4 mm wide aperture.Besides,by virtue of innovative dual-level silicon nitride(Si_(3)N_(4))waveguide grating antennas,the fishbone antenna OPA achieves a 100°×19.4°field of view(FOV)with divergence of 0.021°×0.029°,and the chain antenna OPA realizes a 140°×19.23°FOV with divergence of 0.021°×0.1°.To our best knowledge,140°is the widest lateral steering range in two-dimensional OPA,and 0.029°is the smallest longitudinal divergence.Finally,we embed the OPA into a frequency-modulated continuous-wave system to achieve 100 m distance measurement.The reflected signal from 100 m distance is well detected with 26 dBm input transmitter power,which proves that OPA serves as a promising candidate for transceiving optical signal in a LIDAR system.

Three-terminal germanium-on-silicon avalanche photodiode with extended p-charge layer for dark current reduction

Germanium-on-silicon(Ge-on-Si) avalanche photodiodes(APDs) are widely used in near-infrared detection, laser ranging, free space communication, quantum communication, and other fields. However, the existence of lattice defects at the Ge/Si interface causes a high dark current in the Ge-on-Si APD, degrading the device sensitivity and also increasing energy consumption in integrated circuits. In this work, we propose a novel surface illuminated Ge-on-Si APD architecture with three terminals. Besides two electrodes on Si substrates, a third electrode is designed for Ge to regulate the control current and bandwidth, achieving multiple outputs of a single device and reducing the dark current of the device. When the voltage on Ge is -27.5 V, the proposed device achieves a dark current of 100 n A, responsivity of 9.97 A/W at -40 d Bm input laser power at 1550 nm, and optimal bandwidth of 142 MHz. The low dark current and improved responsivity can meet the requirements of autonomous driving and other applications demanding weak light detection.

Germanium-on-silicon avalanche photodiode for 1550 nm weak light signal detection at room temperature

To optimize the dark current characteristic and detection efficiency of the 1550 nm weak light signal at room temperature,this work proposes a Ge-on-Si avalanche photodiode[APD]in Geiger mode,which could operate at 300 K.This lateral separate absorption charge multiplication APD shows a low breakdown voltage[V_(br)]in Geiger mode of-7.42 V and low dark current of 0.096 n A at unity gain voltage[V_(Gain)=1=-7.03 V].Combined with an RF amplifier module and counter,the detection system demonstrates a low dark count rate[DCR]of 1.1×10^(6) counts per second and high detection efficiencyηof 7.8%for 1550 nm weak coherent pulse detection at 300 K.The APD reported in this work weakens the dependence of the weak optical signal recognition on the low environment temperature and makes single-chip integration of the single-photon level detection system possible.