Arete Associates

Other

Gregory J Fetzer

Paul Bryan Lundquist

Andrew James Griffis

Richard Vercillo

Michael Francis Marnon

Asher Gelbart

Thomas Laurence Kraus

David N Sitter, Jr

Brian C Redman

David Miller

Shannon Bybee-Driscoll

Douglas Gugler

David Sitter

William L Ryder

Embodiments herein provide for improved range response in lidar systems. In one embodiment, a lidar system includes a laser, and a detector. First optics direct light from the laser on a beam path along a first optical axis of the first optics. Second optics image the light from the beam path onto a second plane that is substantially normal to the first plane. The second optics have a second optical axis that differs from the first optical axis. The first and the second optical axes lie in a same first plane. A first line in the first plane intersects a second line in the second plane at an acute angle. The first line is perpendicular to the first optical axis. A spatial filter configured in or near the second plane filters the light from the second optics onto the detector.

Tilted image plane lidar

A lidar pulse is time resolved in ways that avoid costly, fragile, bulky, high-voltage vacuum devices&#x2014;and also costly, awkward optical remappers or pushbroom layouts&#x2014;to provide preferably 3D volumetric imaging from a single pulse, or full-3D volumetric movies. Delay lines or programmed circuits generate time-resolution sweep signals, ideally digital. Preferably, discrete 2D photodiode and transimpedance-amplifier arrays replace a continuous 1D streak-tube cathode. For each pixel a memory-element array forms range bins. An intermediate optical buffer with low, well-controlled capacitance avoids corruption of input signal by these memories.

Compact economical lidar system

Pushbroom and flash lidar operations outside the visible spectrum, most preferably in near-IR but also in IR and UV, are enabled by inserting&#x2014;ahead of a generally conventional lidar receiver front end&#x2014;a device that receives light scattered from objects and in response forms corresponding light of a different wavelength from the scattered light. Detailed implementations using arrays of discrete COTS components&#x2014;most preferably PIN diodes and VCSELs, with intervening semicustom amplifiers&#x2014;are discussed, as is use of a known monolithic converter. Differential and ratioing multispectral measurements, particularly including UV data, are enabled through either spatial-sharing (e. g. plural-slit) or time-sharing.

Ultraviolet, infrared, and near-infrared lidar system and method

Apparatus and method are introduced for detecting and measuring a gas within a gaseous specimen by radiation-absorption spectroscopy. The apparatus includes a housing, and a coiled waveguide arranged in the housing&mdash;with a radiation inlet for receiving radiation and a radiation outlet for emitting the received radiation. The housing has a gas entry chamber enclosing a first portion of the waveguide to receive the gas; and a gas exhaust chamber on the opposed side of the waveguide enclosing a second portion of the waveguide and adapted to exhaust the gaseous specimen. Perforated openings are formed in the first and second portions&mdash;providing short paths for flow of the specimen from the entry chamber through the guide into the exhaust chamber. A laser projects electromagnetic radiation into the inlet of the guide, and a photodetector receives the radiation from the outlet. A signal processor for analyzing the output of the detector identifies and determines the concentration of at least one gas within the gas specimen. Laser drilling and other techniques are prescribed for perforating the waveguide.

Tubular-waveguide gas sample chamber for optical spectrometer, and related methods

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Berthoud, CO, United States of America

Gregory J Fetzer