LIDAR RECEIVER OPTICAL LIMITER
A system comprises a light source, a scanner, an optical limiter, and a receiver sensor. The light source is configured to emit an output beam comprising pulses of light. The scanner is configured to scan the output beam across a field of regard of the system. The optical limiter is configured to non-linearly affect a received light based on an intensity of the received light. The receiver sensor is configured to detect at least a portion of the received light exiting the optical limiter, the detected light comprising at least a portion of one of the emitted pulses of light scattered by an object located a distance from the system.
1 . A system, comprising:
a light source configured to emit an output beam comprising pulses of light;
a scanner configured to scan the output beam across a field of regard of the system;
an optical limiter configured to non-linearly affect a received light based on an intensity of the received light; and
a receiver sensor configured to detect at least a portion of the received light exiting the optical limiter, the detected light comprising at least a portion of one of the emitted pulses of light scattered by an object located a distance from the system.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter includes a semiconductor material.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the semiconductor material includes silicon, indium phosphide (InP), or indium-gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) and wherein the semiconductor material is intrinsically doped, p-type doped, or n-type doped.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter is integrated with the receiver sensor as a monolithic structure.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to absorb a portion of the received light based on the intensity of the received light.
6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter is positioned with a non-zero distance from the receiver sensor.
7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to reshape a focus region of the received light based on the intensity of the received light.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to exhibit a refractive index change based on the intensity of the received light exceeding a configured threshold.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the configured threshold is associated with a material property of the optical limiter.
10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to detect a photocurrent in response to receiving the received light, and output a detection signal associated with the detected photocurrent.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the detection signal is used to generate an amount of attenuation associated with the received light.
12 . A method, comprising:
emitting an output beam comprising pulses of light from a light source;
scanning the output beam across a field of regard;
using an optical limiter configured to non-linearly affect a received light based on an intensity of the received light; and
using a receiver sensor to detect at least a portion of the received light exiting the optical limiter, the detected light comprising at least a portion of one of the emitted pulses of light scattered by an object.
13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the optical limiter is integrated with the receiver sensor as a monolithic structure.
14 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to absorb a portion of the received light based on the intensity of the received light.
15 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the optical limiter is positioned with a non-zero distance from the receiver sensor.
16 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to reshape a focus region of the received light based on the intensity of the received light.
17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to exhibit a refractive index change based on the intensity of the received light exceeding a configured threshold.
18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the optical limiter is configured to generate a photocurrent in response to receiving the received light, and output a detection signal associated with the photocurrent.
19 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the detection signal is used to determine an amount of attenuation associated with the received light.
20 . A system, comprising:
a light source configured to emit light;
a scanner configured to scan the emitted light across a field of regard;
an optical limiter of a receiver configured to non-linearly affect a return light pulse corresponding to the emitted light scattered by an external target located downrange;
the optical limiter configured to provide a detection signal associated with attenuating the return light pulse;
a first detector of the receiver configured to detect at least a portion of the return light pulse exiting the optical limiter to provide a first measurement signal;
a second detector of the receiver configured to detect at least a portion of the return light pulse exiting the optical limiter to provide a second measurement signal; and
a processor configured to identify the first measurement signal and the second measurement signal as corresponding to a same external target and to determine a fused measurement for the external target based on the first measurement signal, the second measurement signal, and the detection signal.