A time of flight (TOF) measurement method and apparatus are provided, including a controller, a time to digital converter, a pulse transmitter, and a pulse receiver. The controller is configured to control, in a working period according to a predetermined transmit rule, the pulse transmitter to sequentially send M transmit pulses. The pulse receiver is configured to receive N feedback pulses in the working period. The time to digital converter is configured to obtain time of flight information corresponding to the N feedback pulses. The controller is further configured to obtain a target time of flight based on the time of flight information corresponding to the N feedback pulses, and obtain a target distance based on the target time of flight.

A time of flight (TOF) measurement method and apparatus are provided, including a controller, a time to digital converter, a pulse transmitter, and a pulse receiver. The controller is configured to control, in a working period according to a predetermined transmit rule, the pulse transmitter to sequentially send M transmit pulses. The pulse receiver is configured to receive N feedback pulses in the working period. The time to digital converter is configured to obtain time of flight information corresponding to the N feedback pulses. The controller is further configured to obtain a target time of flight based on the time of flight information corresponding to the N feedback pulses, and obtain a target distance based on the target time of flight.

In a solid-state imaging element that measures a distance, a circuit scale is reduced. The solid-state imaging element includes a pulse signal generation section and an up-down counter. The pulse signal generation section is provided with an avalanche photodiode that converts incident light including reflected light of irradiation light radiated during a predetermined light-on period into a photocurrent and multiplies the photocurrent and a quench circuit that generates a pulse signal on the basis of the multiplied photocurrent. The up-down counter performs one of up counting and down counting each time the pulse signal is generated during the light-on period, and performs another of the up counting and the down counting each time the pulse signal is generated during a light-off period that does not correspond to the light-on period.

In a solid-state imaging element that measures a distance, a circuit scale is reduced. The solid-state imaging element includes a pulse signal generation section and an up-down counter. The pulse signal generation section is provided with an avalanche photodiode that converts incident light including reflected light of irradiation light radiated during a predetermined light-on period into a photocurrent and multiplies the photocurrent and a quench circuit that generates a pulse signal on the basis of the multiplied photocurrent. The up-down counter performs one of up counting and down counting each time the pulse signal is generated during the light-on period, and performs another of the up counting and the down counting each time the pulse signal is generated during a light-off period that does not correspond to the light-on period.

The present disclosure relates to a method and system for time-of-flight detection. There may be two or more photodetectors in a photodetector circuit that capture photon activity. There is logic that processes the responses of the photodetectors and returns the leading edge of the arrival of the first photon and the leading edge of the arrival of the last photon, if at least two photons are received during an overlapping pulse width.

A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system may include a laser and a array of single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) that are triggered by laser light that reflects off a target scene. The LiDAR system may use the array of SPADs to assemble a raw histogram data. A histogram valid peak detector can be used to filter the raw histogram data to extract only valid histogram peak signals exceeding a threshold value. The histogram valid peak detector may include a raw histogram sum counter, a non-zero bins counter, a background noise floor generator, summing circuits, comparators, and a gating circuit, all controlled by a sequencing circuit. By filtering out noise signals in the raw histogram while only transferring the valid peak signals, data transfer rate requirements between different chips in the overall LiDAR system can be dramatically reduced.

A light detector according to an embodiment includes a light receiver and a controller. The controller is configured to set first and second light-receiving regions. The first light-receiving region includes first and second pixel regions. The second light-receiving region includes a third pixel region. An area of the third pixel region is larger than a total area of the first and second pixel regions. The light receiver is configured to, when light is applied: cause each of the first and second pixel regions within the first light-receiving region to individually output a signal; and cause the third pixel region within the second light-receiving region to output signals collectively.

A method for operating a LIDAR device by a control unit is provided. At least one beam pulse is emitted into a sampling range by a beam source, and beams that are reflected and/or back-scattered from the sampling range are received by a detector that includes multiple SPAD cells, and converted into electrical counting pulses. The at least one beam pulse is generated with a lengthened falling intensity edge, and the detector is read out by a DC-coupled readout electronics system. Moreover, a control unit and a LIDAR device are provided.

A receiver circuit for a sensor includes a photosensitive input circuit and a logarithmic-signal circuit including a PN junction coupled to a pulse voltage node. The pulse voltage node may be coupled to the P-type terminal of the PN junction and an output of the photosensitive input circuit. In some examples, the receiver circuit also may include a linear-signal circuit and/or a square-root-signal circuit.

A receiver circuit for a sensor includes a photosensitive input circuit and a logarithmic-signal circuit including a PN junction coupled to a pulse voltage node. The pulse voltage node may be coupled to the P-type terminal of the PN junction and an output of the photosensitive input circuit. In some examples, the receiver circuit also may include a linear-signal circuit and/or a square-root-signal circuit.