A single photon counting sensor array includes one or more emitters configured to emit a plurality of pulses of energy, and a detector array comprising a plurality of pixels. Each pixel includes one or more detectors, a plurality of which are configured to receive reflected pulses of energy that were emitted by the one or more emitters. A mask material is positioned to cover some but not all of the detectors of the plurality of pixels to yield blocked pixels and unblocked pixels so that each blocked pixel is prevented from detecting the reflected pulses of energy and therefore only detects intrinsic noise.

A phased array lidar includes: a laser generator (100) configured to generate original laser; an optical transmitting medium (400); an optical splitting apparatus (200) coupled to the laser generator (100) through the optical transmitting medium (400); the optical splitting apparatus (200) including a device configured to receive the original laser; and Z radiation units (300), each being respectively coupled to the optical splitting apparatus (200), where Z is a natural number greater than 1. The optical splitting apparatus (200) is configured to split the original laser into Z first optical signals, and send each of the Z first optical signals respectively to the radiation units (300), so that electromagnetic waves radiated by all of the radiation units (300) are combined into a beam of radar waves. The laser generator (100), the device, and the optical transmitting medium (400) are made of a material capable of transmitting laser having power greater than a set power value.

An image noise compensating system, comprising: a distance determining device, configured to determine whether a distance is larger than a distance threshold or not; an image sensor, comprising at least one image sensing unit, wherein the image sensor forms a combined image sensing unit when the distance is smaller than the distance threshold and senses images without forming the combined image sensing unit when the distance is larger than the distance threshold, wherein a width of an area that the combined image sensing unit can sense is larger than a width of an area that the image sensing unit can sense; a noise compensating circuit, configured to compensate image noises; and a control circuit, configured to calculate a location of the image noise compensating system.

An image noise compensating system, comprising: a distance determining device, configured to determine whether a distance is larger than a distance threshold or not; an image sensor, comprising at least one image sensing unit, wherein the image sensor forms a combined image sensing unit when the distance is smaller than the distance threshold and senses images without forming the combined image sensing unit when the distance is larger than the distance threshold, wherein a width of an area that the combined image sensing unit can sense is larger than a width of an area that the image sensing unit can sense; a noise compensating circuit, configured to compensate image noises; and a control circuit, configured to calculate a location of the image noise compensating system.

A process and system for detection and telemetry using electromagnetic radiation pulses allows characterization of a radial velocity distribution as a function of a separation distance within an exploration zone. An impulse response from the system is used for decomposing a measurement signal which is collected for each acquisition sequence performed for a useful measurement. The result of the decomposition includes an estimate of the radial velocity distribution as a function of the separation distance.

An imaging system includes a light source, an image sensor and a processing unit. The image sensor alternatively captures a first bright image, a first dark image, a second bright image and a second dark image, wherein the first bright image is captured with a first exposure time corresponding to activation of the light source within a first time interval, the first dark image is captured with the first exposure time corresponding to deactivation of the light source within the first time interval, the second bright image is captured with a second exposure time corresponding to activation of the light source within a second time interval, and the second dark image is captured with the second exposure time corresponding to deactivation of the light source within the second time interval, wherein the second exposure time is longer than the first exposure time. The processing unit adjusts the second exposure time according to an object image size in the second dark image, and controls the image sensor to stop capturing the first bright and dark images with the first exposure time when no object image is contained in the second dark image.

The LIDAR system includes a first transform component configured to perform a complex mathematical transform on first signals. The LIDAR system also includes a second transform component configured to perform a real mathematical transform on second signals. Electronics are configured to use an output of the first transform component in combination with an output of the second transformation component to generate LIDAR data. The electronics are further configured to use a peak in the output of the first transform component to identify the peak in the output of the second transform component that is located at the beat frequency of the second signals.

Disclosed herein are self-mixing interferometry (SMI) sensors, such as may include vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) diodes and resonance cavity photodetectors (RCPDs). Structures for the VCSEL diodes and RCPDs are disclosed. In some embodiments, a VCSEL diode and an RCPD are laterally adjacent and formed from a common set of semiconductor layers epitaxially formed on a common substrate. In some embodiments, a first and a second VCSEL diode are laterally adjacent and formed from a common set of semiconductor layers epitaxially formed on a common substrate, and an RCPD is formed on the second VCSEL diode. In some embodiments, a VCSEL diode may include two quantum well layers, with a tunnel junction layer between them. In some embodiments, an RCPD may be vertically integrated with a VCSEL diode.

A light detection and ranging system can have a light source coupled to a reflector consisting of a waveguide. The waveguide may be tuned to a selected polarization by a controller to block retroreflected photons resulting from a light beam emitted from the reflector. The waveguide polarization can be altered over time by the controller to provide customized blocking of photons.

A LiDAR system includes an optical subsystem with an optical axis. The optical subsystem includes an optical source to emit an optical beam, a first optical lens to transmit the optical beam, an optical window to reflect a first portion of the optical beam to generate a LO signal, an optical scanner to transmit a second portion of the optical beam to a target to scan the target to generate a target return signal, a second optical lens to transmit the LO signal and the target return signal to a PD, and the PD to mix the target return signal with the LO signal to extract range and velocity information. The LO signal is disposed to be decentered from the optical axis on the second optical lens to increase a percentage of an overlap of the LO signal and the target return signal on a detection plane of the PD.