Phys.org April 5, 2021
The operating range of practical single photon lidar systems is limited to about tens of kilometers over the Earth’s atmosphere, mainly due to the weak echo signal mixed with high background noise. By using high-efficiency optical devices for collection and detection, and new noise-suppression technique that is efficient for long-range applications researchers in China have developed a compact coaxial single-photon lidar system capable of realizing 3D imaging at up to 201.5 km. They developed photon-efficient computational algorithms which enabled accurate imaging with as few as 0.44 signal photons per pixel. The research is a significant step toward practical low power lidar over extra-long ranges…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
…Satellite image of the experiment implemented near the city of Urumqi, China… Credit: Optica Vol. 8, Issue 3, pp. 344-349 (2021)