Experimental study on km-range long-distance measurement using silicon photomultiplier sensor with low peak power laser pulse

Abstract

Silicon photomultipliers (SiPM) have drawn considerable attention due to their superior sensitivity with a multi-pixel matrix structure. SiPM can be the choice of a detector for time of flight measurement which is one of the most promising applications in the field of light detection and ranging (LiDAR). In this work, we take advantage of SiPM and attempt to measure longer distances with a low peak power semiconductor laser under outdoor sunny and windy conditions. We achieved a long detection range of a few kilometers by using SiPM and a laser with a pulse energy of 9 µj at 0.905 µm and 3 dB enhancement in signal to noise ratio (SNR) by the implemented signal extraction algorithm. From the simulation performed, the minimum SNR value and detection probability were also determined for the outdoor field tests.