Silicon-ize Perception™

From Bulk Optics to Silicon Chips

High-performance optical measurement systems are large and expensive, so they rarely leave the laboratory. Lucidus Technologies integrates lasers, modulators and detectors on a silicon photonics chip. Standard semiconductor processes make the chip. Laboratory-grade measurement can then reach production lines and products at the size and cost of a sensor.

Platform Features

• CMOS compatible: Standard semiconductor processes make the chips, so production scales with the line.
• Coherent detection: FMCW measurement gives distance and radial velocity. It rejects ambient light and interference from other sensors.
• Several measurement forms: Single-point precision ranging (LUC-POINT™), full-field dense depth (LUC-VISION™) and panoramic precision scanning (LUC-SPHERE™).

The Complete Perception Stack

LUC-POINT™ and LUC-VISION™ use coherent detection.

LUC-POINT™: Precision ranging

• Single-point FMCW with 0.1 mm accuracy at 100 m
• Monitors bridges, buildings and machine tools

LUC-VISION™: All-surface RGBD imaging

• Depth on reflective, transparent, dark and textureless surfaces
• 0.21 mm precision (1σ, Fine mode) for robotic manipulation

LUC-SPHERE™: Panoramic precision scanning

• 50 µm range accuracy at 20 m, 360° × 270° scanning field
• 3D modeling and dimensional checks of large objects

How FMCW Differs from Time of Flight

Time-of-Flight LiDAR

Time-of-flight LiDAR measures distance by timing light pulses. It cannot measure velocity directly. It estimates velocity by comparing frames.

FMCW

FMCW uses continuous laser light whose frequency changes linearly in time.

• Direct velocity: The Doppler shift gives radial velocity in the same measurement as distance.
• Interference rejection: The coherent receiver responds only to returns that match the local oscillator frequency. Sunlight, headlights and other LiDARs do not enter the mixing path.

The Physics

Time-of-Flight:
Distance = (Speed of Light × Time) / 2
(No velocity information)

FMCW:
Distance = Beat Frequency × c / (2 × Sweep Rate)
Velocity = Doppler Shift × λ / 2
(Both from one measurement)

Key Specifications

• Precision ranging: 0.1 mm at 100 m (LUC-POINT™)
• Direct velocity: The same measurement gives distance and instantaneous velocity (LUC-POINT™)
• Large-object scanning: 50 µm range accuracy at 20 m (LUC-SPHERE™)

Integrated Photonics Architecture

The diagram shows a generic coherent detection architecture. Coherent interference between the signal and reference beams is the physics behind single-point ranging (LUC-POINT™) and full-field depth (LUC-VISION™).

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