A study of high sensitivity detector using Geiger mode APD for Doppler LIDAR

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K04437
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 21030:Measurement engineering-related
• Research Institution: Japan Aerospace EXploration Agency
• Principal Investigator: Mizuno Takahide 国立研究開発法人宇宙航空研究開発機構, 宇宙科学研究所, 教授 (50270442)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: LIDAR / ドップラーLIDAR / ガイガーモード

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we proposed a method to improve the sensitivity of Doppler LIDAR by applying the Si-PM detector, which is a high-sensitivity detector capable of photo counting, to the Doppler LIDAR, and demonstrated it experimentally. Noting that the output from the Si-PM detector is proportional to the input level in terms of the frequency of photo events, we proposed a method to apply the Si-PM detector to continuous wave Doppler frequency measurements, for which a PD is usually used. In experiments, the original objective was successfully achieved by measuring the Doppler frequency from a prism with a constant velocity linear motion of 0.3 to 0.8 m/s using a linear motion system, based on the frequency of photo events.

Free Research Field

計測工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は，通常はPD等が用いられる連続波を使用したドップラーLIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) の検出器に，高感度なガイガーモードAPDを適用することによって，受信感度を2～3桁程度高めることである．複数のガイガーモードAPDをアレイ化して1素子にした高感度なフォトンカウンティングデバイス(Si-PM)の適用によって受信感度の改善をはかり，測距限界の延伸あるいは送信光源の省電力化が実現できる．現在、LIDARは自動車、ドローンなどの自動自律運転に重要なセンサーとされている中で、その実装に寄与する本研究は社会インフラの発展への貢献が期待できる。