Design Study of a Large‐Angle Optical Scanning System for MEMS LIDAR

Abstract

MEMS‐based LIDAR has the advantages of fast‐scanning, simple structure, small volume, and light weight, which make it a hot topic for 3D imaging. In order to overcome the limited scanning angle of the current MEMS mirrors, a large angle MEMS‐based optical scanning system was designed using telephoto structure. In this design an f‐θ lens group is used for flat field scanning and a symmetrical cemented lens group is used for angle expansion. The principle of this system is discussed in detail and an optical design is implemented by ZEMAX software. The designed system realized a scanning angle as large as 57° and is in excellent linear relation with the tilt angle of the MEMS mirror. At the target distance of 100 m, the maximum RMS radius of the light spot is only 7 cm. This optical scanning system shows a significant application potentiality for 3D imaging LIDAR.