Coherent Lidar for High-Resolution 3D Imaging (Printed Electronics USA 2017)

Range-finding sensors have applications that span several industries, from metrology to robotic control. Frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) lidar has been proven effective in providing high depth resolution, but suffers from limited range due to short coherence length of tunable laser sources. In order to expand into more markets, FMCW lidar needs compact and inexpensive implementations to improve the performance of tunable lasers. We have demonstrated the use of optoelectronic phase-locked loops (OPLLs) and "k-clock resampling" methods to make compact and inexpensive FMCW lidar which is useful for manufacturing applications and some consumer-grade applications such as 3D facial reconstruction.

DEMO at Booth U21

Phillip Sandborn is a research specialist with Prof. Ming C. Wu at the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC), and he is responsible for system and packaging design for FMCW lidar developed in the group. Phillip graduated from the University of Maryland in 2012 with dual degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics. He is a recipient of the 2015 Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship, and has had collaboration with Nokia Bell Labs, and internships at HP Labs and the Army Research Lab (Adelphi, MD). Phillip's current research interests are in the development of next generation lidar for consumer applications.

Smart phones, cars, and wearable activity trackers are just a few examples of products with sensors based on technologies pioneered at the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center, a Graduated NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Micro/Nanoelectromechanical Sensors & Systems (MEMS/NEMS). New research at BSAC will have even greater impacts on consumer, industrial, and medical products.