Light detection device, light detection method and optical distance sensor

Abstract

A light detection device detects incident light according to a detection start timing. The light detection device includes photosensors, a signal combining circuit, a detection circuit, a time measurement circuit, and a timing extraction circuit. The photosensors receive light to generate output signals indicating light reception results, respectively. The signal combining circuit sums output signals from the respective photosensors to generate a combined signal. The detection circuit detects a timing at which the combined signal reaches a first threshold or larger to generate a detection signal. The time measurement circuit measures a count period between the detection start timing and the detected timing based on the detection signal. The timing extraction circuit extracts timing information from a predetermined period defined by the detected timing as a reference, the timing information indicating a timing at which the combined signal increases.