Metasurface- and PCSEL-based structured light for monocular depth perception and facial recognition

Wen‑Cheng Hsu, Chia-Hsun Chang, Yu-Heng Hong*, Hao‑Chung Kuo*, Yao-Wei Huang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

The novel depth-sensing system presented here revolutionizes structured light (SL) technology by employing metasurfaces and photonic crystal surface-emitting lasers (PCSELs) for efficient facial recognition in monocular depth-sensing. Unlike conventional dot projectors relying on diffractive optical elements (DOEs) and collimators, our system projects approximately 45,700 infrared dots from a compact 297-μm-dimention metasurface, drastically more spots (1.43 times) and smaller (233 times) than the DOE-based dot projector in an iPhone. With a measured field-of-view (FOV) of 158° and a 0.611° dot sampling angle, the system is lens-free and lightweight and boasts lower power consumption than vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays, resulting in a 5–10 times reduction in power. Utilizing a GaAs-based metasurface and a simplified optical architecture, this innovation not only addresses the drawbacks of traditional SL depth-sensing but also opens avenues for compact integration into wearable devices, offering remarkable advantages in size, power efficiency, and potential for widespread adoption.
Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)1808–1815
Number of pages8
JournalNano Letters
Volume24
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 10 Jan 2024

Keywords

  • metasurfaces
  • photonic crystal surface-emitting laser
  • structured light
  • depth sensing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Metasurface- and PCSEL-based structured light for monocular depth perception and facial recognition'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this