Single photon imaging based on beam manipulation

The array-based single-photon light detection and ranging (LiDAR) not only offers exceptional detection sensitivity, but also enables simultaneous acquisition of distance information from multiple pixels, significantly improving the speed of three-dimensional (3D) imaging. Unfortunately, the working distance is limited by flood illumination in the array-based single-photon LiDAR systems. In order to improve the detection capability of long-range targets and achieve fast 3D imaging of close-range targets simultaneously, a single photon imaging method based on beam manipulation is proposed in this paper. With the beam manipulation technique, the divergence angle is adaptively adjusted by a motorised beam expander according to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which enhances fast and long-range 3D imaging. A compact array-based single-photon LiDAR system is established, and the experimental results show that fast 3D imaging of close-range targets (at a distance of 7.7 km) can be achieved in an urban environment. Furthermore, the working distance of small targets with weak echoes reaches up to 16.5 km. • A single-photon imaging method based on beam manipulation is proposed, which not only enables fast 3D imaging of close-range targets but also enhances the detection capability of long-range targets. • A motorised beam expander is employed to adjust the divergence angle adaptively according to the SNR. • A compact array-based single-photon LiDAR system is established, with which fast 3D imaging of close-range targets (at a distance of 7.7 km) can be implemented and the working distance of small targets with weak echoes reaches up to 16.5 km.