Indirect time of flight range calculation apparatus and method of calculating a phase angle in accordance with an indirect time of flight range calculation technique

Abstract

An indirect time of flight range calculation apparatus comprises a light source, a photonic mixer that generates a plurality of output signals corresponding to a first plurality of phase values. A signal processor is also provided to calculate a first vector and a first angle from the first vector. The photonic mixer generates a second plurality of electrical output signals corresponding to a second plurality of phase values. Each phase value of the second plurality of phase values is respectively offset with respect to each phase value of the first plurality of phase values by a predetermined phase offset value. The signal processor processes the second plurality of electrical output signals in order to calculate a second vector, and de-rotates the second vector calculated and calculates a second angle from the de-rotated vector before offsetting the second angle against the first angle, thereby generating a corrected output angle.