Multi-channel, multi-resolution random-modulated pulsed lidar

We present a multi-channel, multi-resolution random-modulated pulsed lidar system based on a multimode gain-switched Fabry-Pérot (FP) semiconductor laser, a delay self-homodyne interferometer (DSHI), and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM). By controlling the injection current, DWDM channels, and DSHI delay length, multi-channel random-modulated pulses with tunable spectral distributions are generated from a single laser source, enabling efficient spectral coupling to detectors with different bandwidths and consequently multiple ranging resolutions. Ranging performance is evaluated using the effective bandwidth (F_e), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the Cramér-Rao lower bound of the time-of-flight uncertainty (σ(ToF)), together with experimental measurements of ranging precision and cross-channel correlation peaks (µ_p) under various operating conditions. Three optimized configurations are identified for detectors with low (250 MHz), medium (400 MHz), and high (1.6 GHz) bandwidths. Multi-channel, multi-resolution three-dimensional imaging is demonstrated with fields of view of 20° ×20^∘, 10° ×10^∘, and 5° ×5^∘, achieving ranging precisions of 4.8 mm, 1.1 mm, and 0.1 mm, respectively.