ABSTRACT
A principal difficulty of long dwell coherent imaging ladar is its extreme sensitivity to target or platform motion. This paper describes a motion compensated frequency modulated continuous wave 3D coherent imaging ladar method that overcomes this motion sensitivity, making it possible to work with nonstatic targets such as human faces, as well as imaging of targets through refractive turbulence. Key features of this method include scannerless imaging and high range resolution. The reduced motion sensitivity is shown with mathematical analysis and demonstration 3D images. Images of static and dynamic targets are provided demonstrating up to 600×800 pixel imaging with millimeter range resolution.
ABSTRACT
Random pointing errors in coherent ladar tend to cause a reduction in measured signal power due to misalignment among the transmitter, receiver, and (hard) target. A simple model for the size of this impact, in terms of the size of the pointing error, would be useful in the design and evaluation of coherent ladar systems. To be most applicable to monostatic systems, the model should also include correlation between transmitter and receiver pointing errors. We derive an analytic expression for the reduction in average signal power, which we call pointing efficiency, based on Gaussian beam coherent ladar with Gaussian pointing errors that includes arbitrary correlation between transmitter and receiver pointing errors.
ABSTRACT
The performance of single and multielement Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (GM-APD) devices are investigated as a function of the detector's reset or dead time. The theoretical results, developed herein, capture the effects of both quantum fluctuations and speckle noise and are shown to agree with Monte Carlo simulation measurements. First, a theory for the mean response or count rate to an arbitrary input flux is developed. The probability that the GM-APD is armed is shown to be the ratio of this mean response to the input flux. This arm probability, P(A), is then utilized to derive the signal photon detection efficiency (SPDE), which is the fraction of signal photons that are detected. The SPDE is a function of the input flux, the arm probability, and the dead time. When the dead time is zero, GM-APDs behave linearly, P(A) is unity, and the SPDE theory is simplified to the detector's effective quantum efficiency. When the dead time is long compared to the acquisition gate time, the theory converges to previously published "infinite" dead-time theories. The SPDE theory is then applied to develop other key ladar performance metrics, e.g., signal-to-noise ratio and detection statistics. The GM-APD detection statistics are shown to converge to that of a linear photon counting device when the combined signal and noise flux is much less than the reset rate. For higher flux levels, the SPDE degrades, due to a decreased arm probability, and the detection probability degrades relative to that of a linear device.
