Suitable Combination of Direct Intensity Modulation and Spreading Sequence for LIDAR with Pulse Coding

Abstract

In the coded pulse scanning light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system, the number of laser pulses used at a given measurement point changes depending on the modulation and the method of spreading used in optical code-division multiple access (OCDMA). The number of laser pulses determines the pulse width, output power, and duration of the pulse transmission of a measurement point. These parameters determine the maximum measurement distance of the LIDAR and the number of measurement points that can be employed per second. In this paper, we suggest possible combinations of modulation and spreading technology that can be used for OCDMA, evaluate their performance and characteristics, and study optimal combinations according to varying operating environments.

Keywords

• LIDAR
• time-of-flight
• IM/DD OCDMA
• free-space optical communication
• modulation
• spreading code