15.4 A 1024-element scalable optical phased array in 0.18µm SOI CMOS

Abstract

Self-driving cars, drones, and other autonomous systems rely on a number of sensors such as cameras, radars, and ultrasonic detectors to observe their surrounding environments. Light detection and ranging (lidar), where a laser beam is rapidly steered in space, is among the most accurate sensors and enables creation of high-resolution 3D maps. Existing lidar systems are based on mechanical optical beam steering, and as such, are bulky, expensive, susceptible to mechanical failures, and consume large power.