Effect of photonic shot noise on optimum leading edge detection level of laser pulses

L. W. Hallman; J. Kostamovaara

doi:10.1117/12.780488

28 April 2008 Effect of photonic shot noise on optimum leading edge detection level of laser pulses

L. W. Hallman, J. Kostamovaara

Proceedings Volume 7003, Optical Sensors 2008; 700312 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.780488
Event: SPIE Photonics Europe, 2008, Strasbourg, France

Abstract

In time-of-flight laser distance measurement a nanosecond-class laser pulse is reflected off a target, and the distance to the target is calculated from the flight time of the pulse. The distance measurement precision is directly proportional to the jitter of the pulse (i.e. the uncertainty of the arrival time of the pulse due to noise). In this work, the effect of signal quantum shot noise on the jitter of detected laser pulses was researched. It was discovered that signal quantum shot noise drives the optimal detection level of the pulse lower because shot noise increases along with received pulse power. The effect is more significant with an AP-diode receiver than with a PIN diode receiver due to the avalanche multiplication of shot noise in an AP-diode. This jitter phenomenon was modeled in Matlab, and the result was verified by measurements.

Citation Download Citation

L. W. Hallman and J. Kostamovaara "Effect of photonic shot noise on optimum leading edge detection level of laser pulses", Proc. SPIE 7003, Optical Sensors 2008, 700312 (28 April 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.780488

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