Long-Range Daytime 3D Imaging Lidar With Short Acquisition Time Based on 64×64 Gm-APD Array

Abstract

This paper reports a complete solution for short-acquisition-time, flood-illumination, and non-scanning 3D imaging. Based on an InGaAs/InP 64×64 Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode array, we developed a single-photon imaging Lidar with a field of view of 19.2 mrad. A spatiotemporal dominant imaging method was also applied for depth estimation under high daytime background noise conditions. In the field tests, 3D imaging information was effectively extracted from objects with strong solar background light. An acquisition time of only 0.5 ms to 4 ms was needed for a building target approximately 1300 m away. The experimental results show that the Lidar and its data processing method have the potential for dynamic scenarios that require high performance 3D imaging, such as vehicle navigation, airborne mapping, and moving target monitoring.

Keywords

• 3D imaging
• depth estimation
• Gm-APD array
• LiDAR
• single-photon detection