A Macro-Pulse Photon Counting Lidar for Long-Range High-Speed Moving Target Detection

Area of Science:

• Photon counting Lidar technology
• Optical sensing and detection

Background:

• Traditional Lidar systems face challenges in detecting high-speed, long-range targets.
• Photon counting Lidar offers enhanced sensitivity for target detection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel macro-pulse photon counting Lidar system.
• To propose and evaluate a new Time-of-Flight (ToF) extraction method for this system.
• To assess the system's effectiveness for long-range and high-speed moving target detection.

Main Methods:

• Development of a macro-pulse photon counting Lidar system.
• Proposal of a Time-of-Flight (ToF) extraction algorithm tailored for macro-pulse signals.
• Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments comparing macro-pulse and traditional pulse accumulation methods.
• Construction of a laboratory verification platform for dynamic target testing.

Main Results:

• The macro-pulse method demonstrated significantly superior performance compared to the traditional pulse accumulation method.
• Theoretical, simulation, and experimental results showed high consistency.
• The system successfully measured long-range, high-speed moving targets in laboratory conditions.

Conclusions:

• The macro-pulse photon counting Lidar is an effective technology for measuring long-range, high-speed moving targets.
• The proposed ToF extraction method enhances the capabilities of photon counting Lidar systems.
• Experimental validation confirms the system's practical applicability.