Improved Laser Detection and Ranging (LADAR) System

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Fan Ren's research group and researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) have developed a near-infrared, prototype laser detection and ranging (LADAR) system based on the chirp, amplitude-modulated LADAR (CAML) architecture. By using self-mixing detectors in the receiver - which have the ability to internally detect and down-convert modulated optical signals - these researchers have significantly simplified the LADAR design. Detectors 1.55 µm in size, made of eye-safe InGaAs-based metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM), have been designed and fabricated for single-pixel, self-mixing in order to extend the LADAR operating wavelength to 1.55 µm. Current efforts are in the process of fabricating linear arrays of such detectors. The InGaAs-based MSM-PD OEM was used to generate 3-D images for face recognition, range finder, terrain mapping, surveying archeological sites, mobile surveillance sensors for robots, and sensors for aerial platform and smart munitions.