Integrated multi-functional silicon photonic engine for long-range FMCW laser ranging

doi:10.1007/s44275-025-00030-7

Moore and More ›› 2026, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (1): 46-56.DOI: 10.1007/s44275-025-00030-7

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Integrated multi-functional silicon photonic engine for long-range FMCW laser ranging

Jing Wang¹^,²^,^*(), Lin Zhu², Yan Zuo², De Zhou², Rui Zhu², Hongsong Xu², Hao Wang², Xiong Jiang², Zhiheng Yue², Daohui Pan², Qifeng Liu², Dechuan Zhang²

¹ School of Microelectronics, Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China
² Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (RoboSense) , Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000, China

Received:2024-11-14 Revised:2025-02-04 Accepted:2025-02-10 Published:2026-03-20 Online:2026-05-12
Contact: *Jing Wang (wangj8@sustech.edu.cn)
About author:Jing Wang graduated from the Department of Electronic Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China in 2010, and received his Ph.D. from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2015, during which he studied jointly at Purdue University from 2013 to 2014. From 2015 to 2018, he was engaged in the research and development of advanced optoelectronic chips at Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. Since 2018, he has served as a senior R&D expert at Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. (RoboSense), responsible for the research, development, and management of vehicle-mounted solid-state LiDAR systems, chips, and components. As the project leader, he has presided over six large-scale government technology research projects and participated in nearly 10 other government projects. In July 2024, he joined the School of Microelectronics in Southern University of Science and Technology (SusTech) as an associate professor. So far, he has applied for over 130 patents, with more than 50 authorized, published over 20 papers, authored one English monograph, and holds seven copyrights for integrated circuit layout designs. His research interests include high-speed silicon-based optical modulators, photodetectors and their large-scale integrated chip design, LiDAR optoelectronic chip design, and complex optoelectronic system design based on silicon photonic chips.

Abstract

Abstract:

We present an integrated multi-functional silicon photonic engine tailored specifically for long-range frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) laser ranging systems. The engine integrates a parallel four-channel dual-polarization coherent detection module, an on-chip optical splitting system, a laser nonlinearity calibration module utilizing a large-scale optical delay line (DL), and an on-chip local light optical splitting unit on a single chip. Key components, including germanium-silicon photodetectors, were optimized to achieve high responsivity (1.09 A/W) and low dark current (3.6 nA). The on-chip delay line design achieves an optical time delay of 5.74 ns with improved loss, enabling nonlinearity calibration that enhances signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spectrum linewidth. The packaged silicon photonic engine, with a chip size of 2.8 mm × 2.7 mm, demonstrates ranging capabilities up to 200 m with SNR exceeding 10 dB across all four channels. This study represents a new integration solution for the FMCW laser ranging system, providing a robust platform for automotive and other high-precision ranging applications.

Key words: Silicon photonics, FMCW, Coherent receiver, Nonlinearity calibration, Integration

Jing Wang, Lin Zhu, Yan Zuo, De Zhou, Rui Zhu, Hongsong Xu, Hao Wang, Xiong Jiang, Zhiheng Yue, Daohui Pan, Qifeng Liu, Dechuan Zhang. Integrated multi-functional silicon photonic engine for long-range FMCW laser ranging[J]. Moore and More, 2026, 2(1): 46-56.

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Integrated multi-functional silicon photonic engine for long-range FMCW laser ranging

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