Method and apparatus for imaging a scene using a light detector operating in non-linear geiger-mode
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring an object, comprising:
- a light source emitting pulses of light toward the object;
a timing system in electrical communication with said light source; and
a detector system in electrical communication with said timing system, said detector system further comprising;
a monolithic array of light detectors operating in non-linear Geiger-mode; and
an optical system collecting a portion of the light scattered off of the object and directing the collected light toward said array of light detectors.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for imaging a scene. The method and apparatus are capable of resolving 3D spatial structure within the scene. The apparatus includes a light source, a timing system and a detector system. The light source emits pulses of light toward the object or target scene being imaged. In one embodiment, the light source is a laser. In another embodiment, the detector system includes an optical system and a monolithic array of light detectors operating in non-linear Geiger-mode. The optical system collects a portion of the light scattered off of objects in the target scene and directs the collected light toward the array of light detectors. In another embodiment, the detector system includes an optical system and a single light detector operating in non-linear Geiger-mode. In this embodiment, the optical system scans the target scene, collects a portion of the light scattered off of objects in the target scene and directs the collected light toward the light detector.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring an object, comprising:
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a light source emitting pulses of light toward the object; a timing system in electrical communication with said light source; and a detector system in electrical communication with said timing system, said detector system further comprising; a monolithic array of light detectors operating in non-linear Geiger-mode; and an optical system collecting a portion of the light scattered off of the object and directing the collected light toward said array of light detectors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for imaging a scene, comprising the steps of:
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(a) directing a light source toward a scene; (b) operating a monolithic array of light detectors in non-linear Geiger-mode; (c) directing a detector system comprising said monolithic array of light detectors toward the scene; (d) transmitting a pulse of light toward the scene; (e) detecting light reflected back from the scene using said array of light detectors; (f) determining a round-trip travel time of the pulse of light for each light detector in said array light detectors detecting the pulse of light; (g) recording positions of said light detectors in said array of light detectors detecting the pulse of light and corresponding travel times of the pulse of light; and (h) determining an image of the scene in response to recorded positions of said light detectors and corresponding round-trip travel times of the transmitted pulse of light.
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11. An apparatus for measuring an object, comprising:
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a light source emitting pulses of light toward the object; a timing system in electrical communication with said light source; and a scanning detector system in electrical communication with said timing system, said scanning detector system further comprising; a light detector operating in non-linear Geiger-mode; and an optical system scanning the object, collecting a portion of the light scattered off of the object and directing the collected light toward said light detector. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An apparatus for measuring an object, comprising:
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a light source emitting pulses of light toward the object; a timing system in electrical communication with said light source; and a detector system in electrical communication with said timing system, said detector system further comprising; a light detector; and an optical system scanning the object, collecting a portion of the light scattered off of the object and directing the collected light toward said light detector, wherein said light detector consists of a single solid state nonlinear light detector operating in the Geiger-mode.
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23. A method for imaging a scene, comprising the steps of:
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(a) directing a light source toward a scene comprising a plurality of points; (b) operating a light detector in non-linear Geiger-mode; (c) directing a detector system comprising said light detector toward a point in the scene; (d) transmitting a pulse of light toward the scene; (e) detecting light reflected back from the point using said light detector; (f) determining a round-trip travel time of the pulse of light; (g) recording a position of said detector system and said travel time of the pulse of light; (h) repeating steps (c)-(g) for each of said plurality of points; and (i) determining an image of the scene in response to recorded positions of said detector system and corresponding round-trip travel times of each of the transmitted pulses of light.
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Specification