Integration Time and Time-Bin Width in Ranging Histograms for a Photon-Counting LiDAR

Po Hsuan Chen, Chun Hsien Liu, Yu Tsou, Yu Chieh Fang, Li Chih Ko, Chia Ming Tsai, Tzu Hsien Sang, Gray Lin, Sheng Di Lin*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

High-performance light detection and ranging (LiDAR) modules are highly demanded for advanced driving assistance system and autonomous driving. With CMOS-fabricated single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) and pulsed-operated semiconductor lasers, photon-counting based vehicle LiDARs are one of the most promising candidates for low-cost solution. The high data rate and the long integration time of SPAD LiDARs are two of main obstacles for realizing commercially affordable 3-D imagers. In this work, we develop an evaluation method for the minimum ranging time and investigate the time-bin width effect on the ranging precision. A simple formula for predicting the shortest integration time is proposed and compared with the experimental data. We also demonstrate that a proper time-bin width can reduce the data rate and required memory size without degrading the distance resolution. Our work paves the way for making low-cost vehicle LiDARs through system optimizing and engineering.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5870-5875
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Lightwave Technology
Volume40
Issue number17
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2022

Keywords

  • CMOS technology
  • LiDAR
  • ranging time
  • single-photon avalanche diodes
  • time-bin width

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