Real-Time CGH Generation by CUDA-OpenGL Interoperability for Adaptive Beam Steering with a MEMS Phase SLM.

Real-time, simultaneous, and adaptive beam steering into multiple regions of interest replaces conventional raster scanning with a less time-consuming and flexible beam steering framework, where only regions of interest are scanned by a laser beam. CUDA-OpenGL interoperability with a computationally time-efficient computer-generated hologram (CGH) calculation algorithm enables such beam steering by employing a MEMS-based phase light modulator (PLM) and a Texas Instruments Phase Light Modulator (TI-PLM). The real-time CGH generation and display algorithm is incorporated into the beam steering system with variable power and scan resolution, which are adaptively controlled by camera-based object recognition. With a mid-range laptop GPU and the current version of the MEMS-PLM, the demonstrated scanning speed can exceed 1000 points/s (number of beams > 5) and potentially exceeds 4000 points/s with state-of-the-art GPUs.

Diffraction Efficiency of MEMS Phase Light Modulator, TI-PLM, for Quasi-Continuous and Multi-Point Beam Steering.

The recent development of the Micro Electromechanical System (MEMS) Phase Light Modulator (PLM) enables fast laser beam steering for lidar applications by displaying a Computer-Generated Hologram (CGH) without employing an iterative CGH calculation algorithm. We discuss the application of MEMS PLM (Texas Instruments PLM) for quasi-continuous laser beam steering by deterministically calculated CGHs. The effect on the diffraction efficiency of PLM non-equally spaced phase levels was quantified. We also address the CGH calculation algorithm and an experimental demonstration that steered and scanned the beam into multiple regions of interest points, enabling beam steering for lidar without sequential raster scanning.