Abstract
This paper introduces a digital-assisted multiple echo detection scheme, which utilizes the waste time of the full serial data readout period in a focal plane array (FPA)-based laser detection and ranging (LADAR) receiver. With the support of an external digital signal processor (DSP) and additional analog memory inserted into the receiver, the proposed readout scheme can effectively enhance multi-target resolution (MTR) three times higher than the conventional FPA-based LADAR, while maintaining low power consumption and a small area. A prototype chip was fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process with an 8 × 8 FPA configuration, where each single receiver pixel occupied an area of 100 μm × 100 μm. The single receiver achieved an MTR of 20 ns with 7.47 mW power dissipation, an input referred noise current of 4.48 pA/√Hz with a bandwidth 530 MHz, a minimum detectable signal (MDS) of 340 nA, a maximum walk error of 2.2 ns, and a maximum non-linearity of 0.05% among the captured multiple echo images.
Highlights
Laser detection and ranging (LADAR) systems have been developed due to growing interest from many diverse fields, including automation engineering, military technology, three-dimensional (3D) imaging, geographical mapping, and, especially, range-finding [1,2,3].laser detection and ranging (LADAR) systems can be classified by their detection mechanisms
Within the periods of TSF1 and TSF2, because the the receiver could continue to read incoming echoes twice, after ØRT2[N] and ØRT3[N], and to store receiver could continue to read incoming echoes twice, after ØRT2[N] and ØRT3[N], and to store those those results in the analog memory built into the receiver at ØREG2[n] and ØREG2[n], the throughput of resultsa in the analog memory built into the receiver at ØREG2[n] and ØREG2[n], the throughput of a singlesingle-channel receiver could effectively become similar to a three-channel receiver for multiple echo channel receiver could become to limitation a three-channel receiver readout for multiple echo detection
VOTIA becomes lower than VPEAK, the operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) switches off the mirror of M6 and M7
Summary
Laser detection and ranging (LADAR) systems have been developed due to growing interest from many diverse fields, including automation engineering, military technology, three-dimensional (3D) imaging, geographical mapping, and, especially, range-finding [1,2,3]. In the case of the FPA-based LADAR system, the MTR of the receiver can be determined by its frame rate, consisting of the echo detection time (TED) and the data readout time (TDR). Within the periods of TSF1 and TSF2, because the the receiver could continue to read incoming echoes twice, after ØRT2[N] and ØRT3[N] , and to store receiver could continue to read incoming echoes twice, after ØRT2[N] and ØRT3[N], and to store those those results in the analog memory built into the receiver at ØREG2[n] and ØREG2[n] , the throughput of resultsa in the analog memory built into the receiver at ØREG2[n] and ØREG2[n], the throughput of a singlesingle-channel receiver could effectively become similar to a three-channel receiver for multiple echo channel receiver could become to limitation a three-channel receiver readout for multiple echo detection This leadseffectively to a reduction in thesimilar structural of the FPA-based architecture detection. Limitation of the FPA-based readout architecture and aThis tripling ofto itsaMTR over the conventional and a tripling of its MTR over the conventional one
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