The Fabrication and Testing of an Advanced Discrimination Ladar Receiver

This is a proposal for the fabrication and testing of an Advanced Discrimination Ladar Receiver (ADLR) and its associated 3-D imaging system. A time-slicing technology is incorporated in each pixel of a two-dimensional array. When a laser pulse returnsfrom one or more objects, a high-range-resolution 3-D image is produced from the captured data. The ADLR concept is based upon state-of-the-art integrated circuits and image tube technology. The concept is very innovative with enormous potential forincreasing performance above existing multiple-independent-channel, discrimination-ladar-receiver designs used for reentry vehicle and decoy discrimination. Phase I test data shows the range resolution of the current-technology ADLR is 20cm. The spatialresolution is, for practical purposes, limited only by chip size; 230 x 230 pixels are possible. The Phase II ADLR will have at least twice the range resolution as the current technolgy. Data is multiplexed off the ADLR sensor between laser pulses and sothe receiver is not limited by real-time, multiple-independent-channel processing. A 12-bit digitizer can easily be used at the output of the sensor; whereas other real-time designs are limited to far fewer bits. There are also substantial reductions inweight, size, power consumption and cost over conventional receiver approaches. The most direct commercial application of a successful Phase II demonstration will be the incorporation of the ADLR technology in both atmospheric and underwater imagingsystems by at leaast two well-know companies. Additional benefits include:a 3-D ladar, target-discrimination, missile or target seeker; a human or machine visual aid to see through net camouflage and fould weather; a 3-D, eye-safe, imaging system forcivilian aircraft and road vehicles; a 3-D streak camera.