Revolutionizing 3D Sensing with a Chip-Scale Dot Projector

The first monolithic metasurface-PCSEL chip enables chip-scale dot projection. Structured-light projections support smartphones, extended reality, and biometrics.

We demonstrate the first monolithic integration of a metasurface hologram and a photonic crystal surface-emitting laser (PCSEL) to realize a chip-scale structured light projector. This approach achieves unprecedented reductions in both device footprint and power usage, while preserving practical 3D sensing capabilities. Our wafer-level design features a compact footprint of 0.025 mm³, representing an approximately 2450-fold reduction in volume compared to commercial DOE-VCSEL dot projectors, while also reducing power consumption by 28.7%. The integration strategy offers promising fabrication compatibility and represents a transformative advancement in a compact transceiver system, paving the way for next-generation applications in biometrics, extended reality, and consumer electronics.

It is published in Nano Letters.

這是首個單晶整合的超穎介面–光子晶體面射型雷射（metasurface-PCSEL）晶片，實現了晶片級的點陣投影儀。其結構光投影可應用於智慧型手機、延展實境與生物辨識技術。

本研究首次實現超穎介面全像片與光子晶體面射型雷射的單晶整合，開發出晶片級結構光投影儀。此方法在大幅縮小元件體積與降低功耗的同時，仍保有實用的三維感測能力。我們的晶圓級設計具有 0.025 mm³ 的超小尺寸，相較於商用 DOE-VCSEL 點投影器，其體積縮小約 2450 倍，功耗也降低了 28.7%。此整合策略具備優異的製程相容性，為小型化光電收發系統帶來重大突破，為次世代生物辨識、延展實境及消費性電子產品等應用開啟嶄新契機。