System Design and Performance Analysis of a Laser Ranging Echo Receiver Based on an Avalanche Photodiode
H-M. Qu, Q. Ji, W-J. Wang and Q. Chen
A portable laser range finder that is capable of measuring ranges up to 2011 m is designed. The echo receiver based on an avalanche photodiode is described in detail. Performance attributes, such as the maximum detectable distance, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), bandwidth, and signal distortion of the system, were simulated and comprehensively analysed. Results show that the output SNR of the echo receiver reaches 6.00 x 104 and its bandwidth is about 110.00 MHz. The key parameters (the maximum detectable distance, SNR, bandwidth, and signal distortion) are satisfied with the application system requirement.
Keywords: Laser detection and ranging (LADAR), avalanche photodiode (APD), echo receiver, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), bandwidth