Explorers attempting to land on a lunar or planetary surface must use three-dimensional image sensors to measure landing site topography for obstacle avoidance. Requirements for such sensors are similar to those mounted on vehicles and include the need for time synchronization within one frame. We introduce a 1K (32 × 32)-pixel three-dimensional image sensor using an array of InGaAs Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes capable of photon counting in eye-safe bands and present evaluation results for sensitivity and resolution.

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Three‐dimensional (3D) image sensors are requested by planetary explorers to detect obstacles around landing sites during the landing process and to measure the relative distance and attitude of an orbiting spacecraft during rendezvous docking procedures. Three‐dimensional image sensors are also requested in many other fields, including as sensors for autonomous vehicles. In flash LIDAR, a sensor acquires 3D images using the diffuse emission of a pulsed laser, making it suitable for applications like obstacle detection and terrain measurement. We fabricated a prototype 3D image sensor with a temporal resolution of 500 ps and dimensions of 128 × 128 pixels using an InGaAs Geiger mode avalanche photodiode, which is capable of counting photons in the eye‐safe band, as the light receiving sensor. This report gives an overview of the prototype sensor and its functions, a detailed evaluation of its time measurement performance, and details of imaging experiments under sunlight.