A Delay Modulation Method to Improve the Time Resolution for a 32 × 32 Array of MPPC Image Sensor

Abstract

The array laser detector can achieve three-dimensional (3D) flash imaging via multi-channel parallel ranging, which significantly improves the imaging speed. However, the large number of the array makes it difficult to improve the ranging resolution through circuit evolution and data processing, even the imaging speed will be sacrificed. To overcome the problem, a delay modulation method on the transmitter of the laser is proposed in this study. The method is realized by using a 32×32 Multi-Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC) array and an improved phase-shifted clocks method. We eventually achieve 1024-channel 3D imaging that exceeds the depth resolution of the system. Experimental results show that, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of plane fitting with delay modulation is 2.39-5.03 cm, which has come down to 48.6% than those without delay modulation. Using the delay modulation method, a target with a depth difference of about 4 cm can be clearly distinguished by 3D imaging at a distance of 5 m, even if the minimum resolution of the system is 5 cm. Results also demonstrate that the proposed method can easily and effectively enhance the measurement accuracy of 3D flash imaging.