Low Cost and Compact Single Aperture Passive Rangefinder

The overall objective of the proposed SBIR program is to develop compact, low-cost, low power and high-resolution passive sensor to perform simultaneous imaging and ranging functions. Our proposed approach uses a single aperture, and has the potential to increase the range capability of currently available passive or active ranging systems by an order of magnitude. We will accomplish this by monolithically integrating on the same chip, optically pre-amplified (Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifier) APD arrays with transimpedance amplifiers (TIA) incorporating novel time delay integration elements and by sampling and integrating the signal at each pixel at delayed times as the pixel moves relative to the target so that all pixels sample the target and by summing the outputs of all pixels both the distance and imaging can be obtained by signal processing. In Phase I of this project, we will design, model and simulate the performance of the proposed passive range finder using an optically preamplified receiver technology. Finally, we will select the best monolithically integrated VCSOA/APD/TIA arrays and assemble these components on a package to produce a hybrid passive ranger to measure distances and that will be a precursor to the optimized and integrated passive ranger that will be produced in Phase II.