A Compact, Wide Area Surveillance 3D Imaging LIDAR Providing UAS Sense and Avoid Capabilities

Eye safe 3D Imaging LIDARS when combined with advanced very high sensitivity, large format receivers can provide a robust wide area search capability in a very compact package. This search LIDAR concept, when deployed on UAS, can provide target detection, tracking and identification of sufficient quality to enable search and avoid actions when other air traffic flies near UAS platforms in the National Air Space. Current fiber laser technology, operating at a 1.5 micron wavelength, has sufficient pulse energy and pulse rates to illuminate large areas around the UAS platform. The relatively low energy per pulse of the fiber laser is compensated by a new development in large format , compact receivers ( 2,000 x 32 or 1000 x 1000) which exhibit near photon counting capability in very small pixels (~ 15 microns).