IMOS optics for LIDAR
[13.11.2023] 

To a greater and greater extent, automation and at least partly autonomous vehicles characterise our environment and our daily lives. The sensors used for this must allow as nearly as possible absolute protection of people and an exact orientation of the machines and vehicles in the factory or on the  street. 

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)  systems are being used more and  more frequently as a result.  Using laser beams, based on the  ToF (Time of Flight) principle, a  high-resolution image of the environment is obtained by determining  the travel time. 

For advanced technologies such as autonomous driving

For sensing a 3D‐environment with a point beam, rotating polygon and flat mirrors are needed.

The functionality of the LIDAR sensors depends fundamentally on their precision regarding contour and flatness. As a result, their manufacture requires extensive experience and comprehensive machine equipment for production and quality control. Both are present at IMOS.

For precision injection moulding made of synthetic material, high-precision metal mirrors and mould inserts are produced. The 5-axis, ultra-precision milling machines enable highly precise production in the microme-tre (µm) range. As a result, economically priced series parts made of synthetic material, as well as metal optics, are produced in the IMOS factory for the fields of high-performance lasers or high temperatures. 

The functional surfaces are mostly then gold-plated for use with IR lasers. A measuring station devel-oped in-house by IMOS keeps the quality of the optics at a consis-tently high level. As a result, IMOS mirror optics contribute to the continued devel-opment in the future research field of automation and mobility.