High speed pseudorandom modulation fiber laser ranging system

A laser ranging system using all fiber high speed pseudorandom (PN) coded laser at 1550 nm and photon counting is proposed to realize high spatial resolution. Different lengths of PN code are employed in the optical fiber delay ranging test, the results show the improvement in both ranging accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as PN code trains increase. A ranging accuracy of 3 cm is acquired when transmitting pulses propagate to a target of 1.77 km away and received by an InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode (APD). Simulation is also carried out under space borne condition based on current system. The system is demonstrated to have a potential for remote ranging and imaging