An optical phased array (OPA) featuring all-solid-state beam steering is a promising component for light detection and ranging (LiDAR). There exists an increasing demand for panoramic perception and rapid target recognition in intricate LiDAR applications, such as security systems and self-driving vehicles. However, the majority of existing OPA approaches suffer from limitations in field of view (FOV) and do not explore parallel scanning, thus restricting their potential utility. Here, we combine a two-dimensional (2D) grating with an FOV-synthetization concept to design a silicon-based top-facing OPA for realizing a wide cone-shaped 360° FOV. By utilizing four OPA units sharing the 2D grating as a single emitter, four laser beams are simultaneously emitted upwards and manipulated to scan distinct regions, demonstrating seamless beam steering within the lateral 360° range. Furthermore, a frequency-modulated dissipative Kerr-soliton (DKS) microcomb is applied to the proposed multi-beam OPA, exhibiting its capability in large-scale parallel multi-target coherent detection. The comb lines are spatially dispersed with a 2D grating and separately measure distances and velocities in parallel, significantly enhancing the parallelism. The results showcase a ranging precision of 1 cm and velocimetry errors of less than 0.5 cm/s. This approach provides an alternative solution for LiDAR with an ultra-wide FOV and massively parallel multi-target detection capability.

中文翻译：

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多光束顶部光学相控阵，可实现 360° 视场

具有全固态光束偏转功能的光学相控阵 （OPA） 是光探测和测距 （LiDAR） 的一个很有前途的组件。在复杂的 LiDAR 应用（如安全系统和自动驾驶汽车）中，对全景感知和快速目标识别的需求越来越大。然而，大多数现有的 OPA 方法都受到视野 （FOV） 的限制，并且不探索并行扫描，从而限制了它们的潜在实用性。在这里，我们将二维 （2D） 光栅与 FOV 合成概念相结合，设计了一种硅基顶向 OPA，以实现宽锥形 360° FOV。通过使用共享 2D 光栅的四个 OPA 单元作为单个发射器，四个激光束同时向上发射并纵以扫描不同的区域，从而在横向 360° 范围内实现无缝光束转向。此外，将调频耗散克尔孤子 （DKS） 微梳应用于所提出的多波束 OPA，展示了其在大规模并行多目标相干检测中的能力。梳状线通过 2D 光栅在空间上分散，并分别平行测量距离和速度，从而显着提高了平行度。结果显示测距精度为 1 cm，测速误差小于 0.5 cm/s。该方法为 LiDAR 提供了一种具有超宽 FOV 和大规模并行多目标检测能力的替代解决方案。