SciPhAi's waveguide sensing hardware operates in two complementary modes. In CFSRP mode the frequency of light determines which aperture radiates, steering the beam without any moving parts. In pulsed-only mode, the time of flight of each pulse encodes both range and the orbital angle at which it was emitted — turning the clock into a compass. Both modes share the same fabricated aperture array; the difference is entirely in how the photonics are driven.
A chirped optical carrier propagates through a curved waveguide. Each aperture along the waveguide couples light at a frequency that is phase-matched to its position — so sweeping the frequency physically sweeps the active aperture and therefore the beam angle. No mechanical movement required.
Beam angle θ is a deterministic function of optical frequency f. Λ is the grating period; f₀ is the centre frequency.
Short optical pulses are injected at successive apertures around the ring. The time of flight of each returning photon tells you the distance to the target. But because each aperture fires at a known orbital position, the arrival time within the pulse cycle also tells you the direction — so a single timestamp carries both range and angle.
Range R from round-trip time Δt. Direction θ from emission time t_emit within the orbital sweep (angular rate ω).
| Attribute | CFSRP (Mode 1) | Pulsed ToF (Mode 2) |
|---|---|---|
| Beam steering mechanism | Optical frequency sweep | Orbital aperture sequence |
| Direction information carrier | Instantaneous frequency f | Emission timestamp t_emit |
| Range information carrier | FMCW beat tone | Round-trip time Δt |
| Simultaneous velocity | Yes — Doppler from FMCW | Derived from successive scans |
| Signal processing complexity | FFT / coherent detection | Time-stamping / TDC |
| Interference robustness | High (coherent gating) | Very high (incoherent, short pulse) |
| Field of view per orbit | Defined by waveguide chirp bandwidth | Full 360° |
| Hardware change required | None — same aperture array, different drive signal | |
Because both modes exploit the same waveguide aperture array, the system can switch between CFSRP and pulsed operation by changing the drive signal alone. In practice this means a single sensor platform can adapt its sensing strategy to environmental conditions, target density, or processing constraints in real time.
The dual-mode operation emerges from the underlying CFSRP architecture described in USPTO publication 20260056318 (priority July 2019). The waveguide geometry and aperture coupling are the inventive core; the two operating modes are natural consequences of that geometry.
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