CEA-Leti research leads to improved MEMS micro-mirrors for vehicles. This innovative technology aims to detect car tires (15cm high) from a distance of 100 meters. These research results emerged from the European Vizta project and are protected by three new patents.
from www.leti-cea.com, Nov. 10, 2022 –
MEMS micro-mirrors for automobile Lidar are tiny (2mm wide) but essential components that reflect a laser beam and direct it thanks to their up-down-left-right mouvements. This helps Lidar sweep an area and detect vehicles, pedestrians and obstacles.
Cheaper micro-mirrors and improved Lidar range
The innovations developed by Leti are protected by three patents. These improvements will increase Lidar range and security as well as reduce energy consumption and manufacturing costs.
To improve the mechanism used to move the mirrors, the researchers replaced the traditional electrostatic or electromagnetic solutions with a PZT piezo-electric solution that only requires 20V (versus 150V for an electrostatic mirror). This innovative solution also eliminates the need for bulky magnets, which are required for an electromagnetic mirror.