Methods and systems for providing illumination for depth sensing are provided. In one example, an apparatus comprises an illuminator, an optical sensor, and a controller. The illuminator comprises a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and a diffractive optical element (DOE). The PIC including a laser source and at least one waveguide including optical turning features. The at least one waveguide propagates light transmitted by the laser source along a first axis parallel to a top surface of the PIC. The optical turning features diverts the light to form collimated light beams to exit the at least one waveguide and the top surface along a second axis. The DOE can diffract and project the collimated light beams. The optical sensor can detect the collimated light beams reflected off an object. The controller can determine a depth of the object with respect to the apparatus based on the detection.
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