Influence of Time-Pickoff Circuit Parameters on LiDAR Range Precision

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Laser Ranging Technology

Background:

• Pulsed time-of-flight (TOF) Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems are crucial for medium-long range measurements.
• Accurate ranging requires minimizing walk error and timing jitter in the time-pickoff circuit.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and analyze a time-pickoff circuit using automatic gain control (AGC) and constant fraction discriminator (CFD) for improved TOF LiDAR accuracy.
• To investigate the influence of CFD parameters on range precision through simulations and experiments.

Main Methods:

• Developed a time-pickoff circuit incorporating AGC and CFD.
• Utilized Monte Carlo simulations to assess the impact of pulse amplitude, pulse width, attenuation fraction, and delay time on range precision.
• Conducted experimental verification of parameter influence on range precision, excluding pulse width.

Main Results:

• Simulations demonstrated the effect of four key parameters on range precision.
• Experimental results confirmed the relationship between range precision and attenuation fraction and delay time.
• Identified an optimal attenuation fraction range (0.2–0.6) for high range precision.

Conclusions:

• The study provides selection criteria for time-pickoff circuit parameters to enhance TOF LiDAR performance.
• Optimizing attenuation fraction and delay time is critical for achieving high range precision, especially at minimum pulse amplitudes.