Monostatic FMCW LiDAR sensing in C-band using an integrated InP optical phased array

We demonstrate a monostatic LiDAR based on an InP photonic integrated optical phased array (OPA). The system utilizes an OPA with on-chip amplification which transmits and receives light simultaneously through an array of eight end-fire waveguide antennas. The OPA is capable of a 4.6° angular resolution and a 41° field of view. The on-chip amplifiers provide up to 21.5dB gain in a 1465-1600nm wavelength range. We show proof-of-principle FMCW (frequency modulated continuous wave) sensing through the monostatic OPA. The system relies on the frequency modulation with up to 10GHz frequency excursion of an external optically isolated DFB laser, which allows the simultaneous detection of range and velocity. The measurements were performed with a reflective target located ~2m away from the OPA, by varying the target position and velocity of 30 cm and ±5cm/s respectively. To the best of our knowledge, we demonstrated the first monostatic FMCW LiDAR implementation on an integrated InP OPA.