A full waveform capture (FWC) digital lidar processor is now available from fabless semiconductor vendor Next Semiconductor.
Dubbed the NXLR1 lidar processing unit, the device enables long range lidar perception and integrates 12-channels of prevision 16-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) sampling at up to 2 billion samples per second with FWC pulse processing integrated into a single chip.
Next Semiconductor said this lidar system-on-chip (SoC) is applicable for:
- Advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS)
- Autonomous vehicles
- On-orbit satellites
- Aerial drones
- Industrial robotics
These markets comprise a $10 billion market by 2030, according to research firm MarketsAndMarkets.
Next Semiconductor said the NXLR1 operates at the center of the lidar system controlling the firing of laser pulses, digitizing the full pulse returns and analyzing the digitized return signals to deliver curated metadata downstream via high-speed serial links.
"Full Waveform Capture LiDAR offers superior machine vision with precise spatial mapping of any environment enabling vehicles to navigate with maximum awareness,” said Michael Kappes, president and CTO at Next Semiconductor. “Our focus has been to integrate reconfigurable LiDAR sensor processing into an advanced FinFET CMOS device to deliver the end game solution for LiDAR sensors.”
The SoC also features 10 times power efficiency and 10 times cost benefits over field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that are traditionally used in these applications, Next Semiconductor said.
