Improving distance imaging accuracy through temporal position correction with phase difference compensation

Abstract

This study introduces a time-domain-based phase compensation method to address decoherence effects in optical heterodyne detection, which is critical for remote sensing and distance imaging. The numerical simulations demonstrate a substantial reduction in localization bias (6.56–2.85) and an increased probability of bias values below 2 (21.6%–70.5%). The experiments show significant improvement in whiteboard distance imaging accuracy at 10 m from the detector, with 91.7% of the data falling within 10–12 m, compared to a mere 2.3% accuracy before compensation. The method effectively enhances intensity image quality, mitigates decoherence phenomena, and improves detection accuracy and reliability without additional hardware.