SBIR Phase I: Chip Scale Acousto-Optics Beam-Steering LiDAR

The broader impact/commercial impacts of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is in advancing the capabilities of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems, which are critical for autonomous vehicles, robots, and smart city infrastructure. Current LiDAR technologies face challenges such as high costs and large sizes, limiting widespread adoption. This project addresses these barriers by developing a compact and chips-based technology that leverages innovative sound and light principles. This technology has the potential accelerate adoption in markets like outdoor robotics and smart city applications, with broader future impacts in other high-performance sectors. By offering a cost-effective, scalable solution, this project will enhance scientific understanding of integrated systems and establish a durable competitive advantage in the LiDAR market. The innovation will make LiDAR systems more accessible thus contributing to national security, prosperity and welfare. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project focuses on developing an acousto-optic beam steering (AOBS) technology for LiDAR systems. The current challenge lies in creating a beam steering mechanism that is compact, fully solid-state, and cost-effective while maintaining high performance. The proposed work will integrate acousto-optic materials with precise field programmable gate array (FPGA) controlled beam steering algorithms. The project will investigate methods to enhance beam steering precision, improve near-infrared integration for time-of-flight LiDAR, and develop advanced packaging for scalable manufacturing. Research objectives include optimizing the performance of the AOBS chip, demonstrating its seamless integration with existing LiDAR platforms, and validating its manufacturability at scale. The anticipated technical results include a working prototype of the AOBS-based LiDAR system with performance metrics that meet or exceed those of current systems at a fraction of the cost. If successful, this innovation will lay the groundwork for further development and commercialization, providing a transformative solution to the challenges faced by traditional LiDAR systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.