Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090079956 | Three-dimensional LADAR module with alignment reference insert circuitry comprising high density interconnect structure - A 3-D LADAR imaging system incorporating stacked microelectronic layers is provided. A light source such as a laser is imaged upon a target through beam shaping optics. Photons reflected from the target are collected and imaged upon a detector array through collection optics. The detector array signals are fed into a multilayer processing module wherein each layer includes detector signal processing circuitry. The detector array signals are amplified, compared to a user-defined threshold, digitized and fed into a high speed FIFO shift register range bin. Dependant on the value of the digit contained in the bins in the register, and the digit's bin location, the time of a photon reflection from a target surface can be determined. A T | 03-26-2009 |
20110032130 | AM chirp LADAR readout circuit and module - A readout circuit is disclosed for use in an AM chirp LADAR system. The circuit comprises a photodetector such as a metal-semiconductor-metal detector coupled to a passive electronic filter. The filter output coupled to a capacitive-coupled transimpedance amplifier with an output coupled to an analog storage register. The analog storage register output is coupled to a sample-and-hold circuit which in turn is coupled to a sample and hold circuit. The output of the sample and hold circuit is digitized by an analog-to-digital converter circuit for further processing. The circuit may be used as a cell for the readout of an individual pixel on a photodetector or a plurality of cells used in a stack of integrated circuit chips for the read out of a plurality of pixels in a photodetector array. | 02-10-2011 |
20110032508 | Phase sensing and scanning time of flight LADAR using atmospheric absorption bands - A phase-sensing and scanning time-of-flight LADAR method and device are disclosed that take advantage of an atmospheric absorption bands within the solar IR spectrum. | 02-10-2011 |
20110285981 | Sensor Element and System Comprising Wide Field-of-View 3-D Imaging LIDAR - A LIDAR sensor element and system for wide field-of-view applications such as autonomous UAS landing site selection is disclosed. The sensor element and system have an imaging source such as a SWIR laser for imaging a field of regard or target with a beam having a predefined wavelength. The beam is scanned over the field of regard or target with a beam steering device such as Risley prism. The reflected beam is captured by the system by receiving optics which may comprise a Risley prism for receiving and imaging the reflected beam upon a photodetector array such as a focal plane array. The focal plane array may be bonded to and a part of a three-dimensional stack of integrated circuits, a plurality of which may comprise one or more read out integrated circuits. | 11-24-2011 |
20120092390 | Low Power Image Intensifier Device Comprising Black Silicon Detector Element - A detector module which may comprise a black silicon detector for detecting incident radiation and generating a visible output to a display output pixel element such as one or more OLED elements. One or more vertically interconnected unit cells, which may be in the form of a plurality of vertically stacked and bonded layers, is disclosed having a detector layer comprising one or more black silicon detector elements, an amplification layer and a display layer having a dedicated display output pixel element. The layers are vertically interconnected by means of electrically conductive area interconnects such as electrically conductive through-silicon vias. | 04-19-2012 |
20120161010 | Stacked Micro-channel Plate Assembly Comprising a Micro-lens - A multilayer electronic imaging module and sensor system incorporating a micro-lens layer for imaging and collimating a received image from a field of regard, a photocathode layer for detecting photons from the micro-lens layer and generating an electron output, a micro-channel plate layer for receiving the output electrons emitted from the photocathode in response to the photon input and amplifying same and stacked readout circuitry for processing the electron output of the micro-channel plate. The sensor system of the invention may be provided in the form of a Cassegrain telescope assembly and includes electromagnetic imaging and scanning means and beam-splitting means for directed predetermined ranges of the received image to one or more photo-detector elements which may be in the form of the micro-channel imaging module of the invention. | 06-28-2012 |
20120170024 | Long Range Acquisition and Tracking SWIR Sensor System Comprising Micro-Lamellar Spectrometer - A sensor system is provided having a precision tracking sensor element and a micro-lamellar spectrometer for determining the wavelength of an electromagnetic source such as a laser designator source. Acquisition sensor elements may be provided and mounted on a rotating base element that rotates about a first axis. The precision tracking sensor elements may be mounted on a hinged or pivoting element or gimbal on the housing and provided with drive means to permit a user to selectively manually or automatically direct it toward a scene target of interest detected by the acquisition sensor elements. At least one of the imaging elements in the precision tracking sensor or acquisition sensors is stacked micro-channel plate focal plane array element. | 07-05-2012 |
20120170029 | LIDAR System Comprising Large Area Micro-Channel Plate Focal Plane Array - A sensor system is provided comprising a precision tracking sensor element and one or more acquisition sensor elements. The acquisition sensor elements may be mounted on a rotating base element that rotates about a first axis. The precision tracking sensor elements may be mounted on a hinged or pivoting element or gimbal on the housing and provided with drive means to permit a user to selectively manually or automatically direct it toward a scene target of interest detected by the acquisition sensor elements. At least one of the imaging elements in the precision tracking sensor or acquisition sensors is stacked micro-channel plate focal plane array element. | 07-05-2012 |
20120176619 | Solid State Depletion Region Unit Cell Spectrometer - A solid state spectrometer unit cell or plurality of cells for sensing different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation at different depths within the substrate of the device. Variable bias voltages on one or more p-n junctions in the device are used so that the depth of the depletion regions are selectively varied. By varying the depletion region thickness of the p-n junctions in the device, the wavelengths absorbed by the semiconductor device and resultant electron-hole pairs collected by the p-n junctions are varied. In one embodiment, the outputs of each of two unit cell p-n junctions are sensed and the difference calculated and output to suitable circuitry for display as representative of a particular range or frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum. | 07-12-2012 |
20120176620 | Method for Using a Variable Depletion Region to Determine a Range of the Electromagnetic Spectrum - A method for using a depletion region in a solid state spectrometer unit cell or plurality of cells for sensing different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation at different depths within the substrate of the device. Variable bias voltages on one or more p-n junctions in the device are used so that the depth of the depletion regions are selectively varied. By varying the depletion region thickness of the p-n junctions in the device, the wavelengths absorbed by the semiconductor device and resultant electron-hole pairs collected by the p-n junctions are varied. In one embodiment, the outputs of each of two unit cell p-n junctions are sensed and the difference calculated and output to suitable circuitry for display as representative of a particular range or frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum. | 07-12-2012 |
20120181433 | Sensor System Comprising Stacked Micro-Channel Plate Detector - A multilayer electronic imaging module and sensor system incorporating a micro-lens layer for imaging and collimating a received image from a field of regard, a photocathode layer for detecting photons from the micro-lens layer and generating an electron output, a micro-channel plate layer for receiving the output electrons emitted from the photocathode in response to the photon input and amplifying same and stacked readout circuitry for processing the electron output of the micro-channel plate. The sensor system of the invention may he provided in the form of a Cassegrain telescope assembly and includes electromagnetic imaging and scanning means and beam-splitting means for directed predetermined ranges of the received image to one or more photo-detector elements which may be in the form of the micro-channel imaging module of the invention. | 07-19-2012 |
20130107243 | Fast, High Resolution 3-D Flash LADAR Imager | 05-02-2013 |
20130250272 | Threshold Detection Method, Module and Readout Integrated Circuit Layer for LIDAR Time of Flight System Using Differentiated Gaussian Signal - A LIDAR device and method for determining the range of a target surface using a threshold detector circuit that differentiates the laser return signal to define a differentiated signal. The signal level crossing point or threshold is representative of the peak amplitude of the return signal. The device and method compare the signal level crossing point to a predetermined threshold level to determine the range of the target surface in a LIDAR system. | 09-26-2013 |
20130250273 | Threshold Detection Method and Device for LIDAR Time of Flight System Using Differentiated Gaussian Signal - A LIDAR device and method for determining the range of a target surface using a threshold detector circuit that differentiates the laser return signal to define a differentiated signal. The signal level crossing point or threshold is representative of the peak amplitude of the return signal. The device and method compare the signal level crossing point to a predetermined threshold level to determine the range of the target surface in a LIDAR system. | 09-26-2013 |
20140125985 | Multi-Operations Sensor System - A sensor suite comprising a first electronic imaging element such as an LWIR imager element and a second imaging element such as a visible imager element. The transmitter operates with a plurality of selectable beam-forming optics or a tilt-tip element. The optics for the system may be configured in a Cassegrain-type configuration in cooperation with a plurality of beam-splitting elements to permit different ranges of the received optical input to be provided respectively to the first and second electronic imagers. One or a plurality of laser illuminator analysis spectrometers are provided for the detection and characterizing of incoming laser illumination from an external source which may be in the form of a micro-lamellar spectrometer element. | 05-08-2014 |
20140293263 | LIDAR Comprising Polyhedron Transmission and Receiving Scanning Element - A LIDAR system having a rotating geometric solid polyhedron reflective scanning and receiving element disposed on a rotation table element. The system is configured for scanning a transmitted electromagnetic beam such as a laser beam over a scene of interest in both elevation and azimuth and for receiving a reflected portion of the transmitted beam onto the focal plane detector array of the invention and to output an (x, y, range) set of point cloud coordinate image data. | 10-02-2014 |
20140293266 | Local Alignment and Positioning Device and Method - A device and method that uses terrain features having one or more predetermined characteristics or weights in an electronic image date frame or set of frames such as a LIDAR voxel set of image data frames for use as system reference points which are, in turn, used in one or more trilateration calculations performed in electronic circuitry to determine a position or ego-motion of the device. | 10-02-2014 |
20140301662 | Analysis, Labeling and Exploitation of Sensor Data in Real Time - A method for processing sensor data representative of a scene of interest. A plurality of sensor data outputs representative of the scene is selected from the group consisting of visible, VNIR, SWIR, MWIR, LWIR, far infrared, multi-spectral data, hyper-spectral data, SAR data, and 3-D LIDAR sensor data. The data is input to a plurality of graphics processing elements that are configured to independently execute separate image processing filter operations selected from the group consisting of spatial filtering, temporal filtering, spatio-temporal filtering, and template matching. A cross-correlation operation is performed on the filter outputs based on predetermined filter output characteristics which may then be used to annotate the scene with regions of interest (ROI) for display to a user. | 10-09-2014 |
20140375977 | LIDAR Device and Method for Clear and Degraded Environmental Viewing Conditions - A LIDAR system that can accommodate both a clear atmosphere and be adaptable to environments in which smoke, dust or other particulates (i.e., a degraded environment) exist in the atmosphere around the target is described. The system operates in two fields of regard: clear view mode (wide field of regard) and a degraded view mode (narrow field of regard). The wide field of regard allows the output laser energy to be concentrated over a large number of detector pixels and thus resulting in high scene scan rate. The narrow field of regard allows concentrating the laser output energy on fewer pixels to compensate for the loss of laser energy due to atmospheric degradation. The combination of the ROIC and LIDAR modes of operation result in a system that is capable of operation under clear and degraded environments. | 12-25-2014 |