Towards a solid-state light detection and ranging system using holographic illumination and time-of-flight image sensing

Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems are finding their way into an increasing number of applications including autonomous vehicles. Image sensors based on single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays have demonstrated great promise for LIDAR, typically using flood illumination or raster-scanning of a small spot. Holographic illumination, based on phase-only liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) spatial light modulators, has been successfully applied to display systems such as automotive head up displays (HUDs). It holds great promise as the method of illumination for a LIDAR system. We present a novel solid-state LIDAR architecture using holographic projection and single-photon detection. We report a simple experiment that demonstrates proof of concept. The results of the experiment show that the novel architecture can improve the depth accuracy of 3D imaging compared to conventional LIDAR systems. We also indicate several key performance advantages of the novel architecture that will increase as the system scales to higher performance.