Imaging LIDARs capture location of objects in three-dimensional (3D) space, 2D field-of-view (FOV) or 2D in angular space, and 1D in distance, thus are used for variety of applications such as autonomous driving cars, robotics, and gesture recognitions. Imaging LIDAR, in its implementation of optics, has several options. One of the most commonly used optical architectures is a mechanical scanning of angular space while employing distance mapping on point by point basis. The architecture is suitable for long distance range finding and wide field of view imaging, though scan speed is limited by mechanics. Also, completely non-mechanical scanning approach, a lens with 2-dimensional sensor array, is adopted however the measurement range is ingeneral limited. Alternatively, we propose a new architecture, an optical phased array that can be used in both transmit and receive modes. The photonic based phased array produces a single main beam that can be electrically steered similar to modern day advanced radars. By using a photonic based array architecture very small, tightly spaced elements can be formed. Since the array produces a grating lobe free radiation pattern gain is maximized. This enables longer range, faster scans, and unambiguous angular data when compared to other optical phased arrays.

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Matt Salem and Yuzuru Takashima, "Design of phased array beam steering device for situation awareness applications (Conference Presentation)," Proc. SPIE 10757, Optical Data Storage 2018: Industrial Optical Devices and Systems, 107570I (Presented at SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications: August 20, 2018; Published: 18 September 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2323906.5836682941001.