Patent ID: 11874376
Assignee: AURORA OPERATIONS, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor system for a vehicle, comprising:
a transmitter comprising a first grating coupler, the transmitter configured to output a transmit beam;
a receiver comprising a plurality of second grating couplers, the plurality of second grating couplers spaced from the first grating coupler;
a scanner configured to receive the transmit beam from the transmitter, direct the transmit beam toward an environment of the vehicle, receive a return beam from reflection of the transmit beam by an object in the environment, and direct the return beam to the receiver;
a collimator between the transmitter and the scanner, the collimator configured to collimate the transmit beam;
a circulator between the collimator and the plurality of second grating couplers, each second grating coupler of the plurality of second grating couplers configured to receive a respective component of the return beam from free space from the circulator;
a first mixer and a second mixer respectively coupled with one of the second grating couplers; and
a local oscillator configured to switch a reference signal between the first mixer and the second mixer.