Ladar receiver range measurement using distinct optical path for reference light
First Claim
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1. An apparatus comprising:
- a light sensor configured to sense incident light, wherein the sensed light includes (1) light corresponding to a reflection of a ladar pulse and (2) light corresponding to an optical pulse that is distinct from the reflection of the ladar pulse; and
a circuit configured to (1) convert a signal corresponding to the sensed light over time into a plurality of digital samples, (2) apply a delay to the samples to generate a plurality of delayed samples, (3) correlate the samples against the delayed samples to find an alignment between the samples and the delayed samples that produces a maximal output, and (4) determine a timing relationship between the optical pulse and the ladar pulse based on the correlation.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are various embodiment of an adaptive ladar receiver and associated method whereby the active pixels in a photodetector array used for reception of ladar pulse returns can be adaptively controlled based at least in part on where the ladar pulses were targeted. Additional embodiments disclose improved imaging optics for use by the receiver and further adaptive control techniques for selecting which pixels of the photodetector array are used for sensing incident light.
205 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a light sensor configured to sense incident light, wherein the sensed light includes (1) light corresponding to a reflection of a ladar pulse and (2) light corresponding to an optical pulse that is distinct from the reflection of the ladar pulse; and a circuit configured to (1) convert a signal corresponding to the sensed light over time into a plurality of digital samples, (2) apply a delay to the samples to generate a plurality of delayed samples, (3) correlate the samples against the delayed samples to find an alignment between the samples and the delayed samples that produces a maximal output, and (4) determine a timing relationship between the optical pulse and the ladar pulse based on the correlation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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11. The apparatus of 7 wherein the ladar transmitter is further configured to spawn the ladar pulse and the optical pulse at the same time.
Specification