Ladar system and method with adaptive pulse duration

1. A ladar system comprising:

a camera that senses background light levels, wherein the camera comprises at least one of a passive infrared camera, a visible light camera, and/or a visible light color camera;

a control circuit that (1) estimates the sensed background light levels, (2) maintains a plurality of solar thermal mass models for use when estimating background light levels, and (3) controllably adjusts a pulse duration for a new ladar pulse based on the estimated background light levels; and

a ladar transmitter that transmits the new ladar pulse, wherein the new ladar pulse has the adjusted pulse duration.

2. A ladar system comprising:

a sensor that senses background light levels;

a control circuit that (1) measures the sensed background light levels and (2) controllably adjusts a pulse duration for a new ladar pulse based on the measured background light levels; and

a ladar transmitter that transmits a plurality of ladar pulses, including the new ladar pulse, wherein the new ladar pulse has the adjusted pulse duration, wherein the ladar transmitter comprises (1) a laser and (2) a pulse generator that is responsive to a control signal from the control circuit to control the pulse duration for ladar pulses; and

wherein the pulse generator can adjust pulse duration commensurate with an inter-pulse period between ladar pulses for the ladar transmitter.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the control circuit adjusts the pulse duration by defining a first pulse duration for measured background light levels corresponding to a first amount and defining a second pulse duration for measured background light levels corresponding to a second amount, wherein the first amount is brighter than the second amount, and wherein the first pulse duration is shorter than the second pulse duration.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the control circuit adjusts the pulse duration so that background light noise is below or near a Johnson noise for the ladar system with respect to a threshold.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising a ladar receiver that detects ladar returns from ladar pulses transmitted by the ladar transmitter.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar transmitter and the ladar receiver are in a bistatic arrangement.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the ladar receiver is spatially offset from the ladar transmitter, and wherein the ladar receiver has a field of view in a range between −30 degrees to +30 degrees.

8. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver is dark current shot noise limited, background light limited, and/or Johnson noise limited.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the control circuit detects ladar returns extant above the measured background light levels and a shot noise background.

10. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver has a receiver aperture that is larger than an aperture of the ladar transmitter.

11. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a non-imaging ladar receiver.

12. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a plurality of photo-receivers, each with a different field of view, and wherein the ladar receiver is configured to selectively activate different photo-receivers in response to a control signal from the control circuit.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the control signal activates photo-receivers based on which photo-receivers have a field of view that encompasses a range point targeted by a ladar pulse.

14. The system of claim 12 wherein the ladar receiver includes a multiplexer circuit that selectively activates the photo-receivers in response to the control signal.

15. The system of claim 12 wherein the photo-receivers comprise an array of addressable photodetectors.

16. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a bandpass optical filter and a photo-receiver that receives incident light via the bandpass optical filter.

17. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a near field coaxial receiver.

18. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver comprises:

a first receiver that receives a ladar return from a ladar pulse with a known transmit polarization, wherein the first receiver is polarized with a first polarization;

a second receiver that receives the ladar return from the ladar pulse with the known transmit polarization, wherein the second receiver is polarized with a second polarization; and

wherein the control circuit (1) measures incident polarizations at the first and second receivers with respect to the received ladar return and (2) separates a retro-reflective portion of the received ladar return from a non-retro-reflective portion of the received ladar return based on the measured incident polarization and the known transmit polarization.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the first receiver comprises (1) a first lens polarized with the first polarization, and (2) a first photo-receiver that receives incident light via the first lens; and

wherein the second receiver comprises (1) a second lens polarized with the second polarization, and (2) a second photo-receiver that receives incident light via the second lens.

20. The system of claim 18 wherein the first polarization is horizontal polarization, and wherein the second polarization is vertical polarization.

21. The system of claim 5 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a cross-receiver, the cross-receiver comprising a first 1D array of photodetector cells and a second 1D array of photodetector cells that are oriented differently relative to each other.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the camera comprises a plurality of cameras.

23. The system of claim 22 wherein the control circuit employs parallax correction based on the cameras.

24. The system of claim 1 wherein the ladar transmitter comprises (1) a laser and (2) a pulse generator that is responsive to a control signal from the control circuit to control the pulse duration for ladar pulses.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the pulse generator can adjust pulse duration commensurate with an inter-pulse period between ladar pulses for the ladar transmitter.

26. The system of claim 1 wherein the control circuit controls the ladar transmitter to generate and transmit a plurality of ladar pulses that share the same pulse energy but differ in pulse duration.

27. The system of claim 1 wherein the control circuit comprises a processor.

28. The system of claim 2 wherein the control circuit adjusts the pulse duration by defining a first pulse duration for measured background light levels corresponding to a first amount and defining a second pulse duration for measured background light levels corresponding to a second amount, wherein the first amount is brighter than the second amount, and wherein the first pulse duration is shorter than the second pulse duration.

29. The system of claim 2 wherein the control circuit adjusts the pulse duration so that background light noise is below or near a Johnson noise for the ladar system with respect to a threshold.

30. The system of claim 2 further comprising a ladar receiver that detects ladar returns from ladar pulses transmitted by the ladar transmitter.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar transmitter and the ladar receiver are in a bistatic arrangement.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the ladar receiver is spatially offset from the ladar transmitter, and wherein the ladar receiver has a field of view in a range between −30 degrees to +30 degrees.

33. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver is dark current shot noise limited, background light limited, and/or Johnson noise limited.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the control circuit detects ladar returns extant above the measured background light levels and a shot noise background.

35. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver has a receiver aperture that is larger than an aperture of the ladar transmitter.

36. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a non-imaging ladar receiver.

37. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a plurality of photo-receivers, each with a different field of view, and wherein the ladar receiver is configured to selectively activate different photo-receivers in response to a control signal from the control circuit.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the control signal activates photo-receivers based on which photo-receivers have a field of view that encompasses a range point targeted by a ladar pulse.

39. The system of claim 37 wherein the ladar receiver includes a multiplexer circuit that selectively activates the photo-receivers in response to the control signal.

40. The system of claim 37 wherein the photo-receivers comprise an array of addressable photodetectors.

41. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a bandpass optical filter and a photo-receiver that receives incident light via the bandpass optical filter.

42. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a near field coaxial receiver.

43. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver comprises:

a first receiver that receives a ladar return from a ladar pulse with a known transmit polarization, wherein the first receiver is polarized with a first polarization;

a second receiver that receives the ladar return from the ladar pulse with the known transmit polarization, wherein the second receiver is polarized with a second polarization; and

wherein the control circuit (1) measures incident polarizations at the first and second receivers with respect to the received ladar return and (2) separates a retro-reflective portion of the received ladar return from a non-retro-reflective portion of the received ladar return based on the measured incident polarization and the known transmit polarization.

44. The system of claim 43 wherein the first receiver comprises (1) a first lens polarized with the first polarization, and (2) a first photo-receiver that receives incident light via the first lens; and

wherein the second receiver comprises (1) a second lens polarized with the second polarization, and (2) a second photo-receiver that receives incident light via the second lens.

45. The system of claim 43 wherein the first polarization is horizontal polarization, and wherein the second polarization is vertical polarization.

46. The system of claim 30 wherein the ladar receiver comprises a cross-receiver, the cross-receiver comprising a first 1D array of photodetector cells and a second 1D array of photodetector cells that are oriented differently relative to each other.

47. The system of claim 2 wherein the sensor comprises a camera.

48. The system of claim 47 wherein the camera comprises at least one of a passive infrared camera, a visible light camera, and/or a visible light color camera.

49. The system of claim 47 wherein the camera comprises a plurality of cameras.

50. The system of claim 49 wherein the control circuit employs parallax correction based on the cameras.

51. The system of claim 2 wherein the control circuit controls the ladar transmitter to generate and transmit a plurality of ladar pulses that share the same pulse energy but differ in pulse duration.

52. The system of claim 2 wherein the control circuit comprises a processor.