Large Field-of-View and High-Resolution Imaging Based on Single-Photon LiDAR and Long-Wave Infrared Camera

In array-based single-photon LiDAR system, semiconductor manufacturing limitations prevent single-photon detector arrays from achieving pixel counts comparable to those of visible light or infrared cameras, which typically exceed millions of pixels. Consequently, maintaining spatial resolution requires narrowing the field of view (FOV), which restricts effective target search and positioning. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a method that combines a large-FOV long-wave infrared (LWIR) detector with a single-photon LiDAR system. This combination leverages the high spatial resolution of single-photon detectors and the broad coverage of LWIR imaging, enabling target detection and the simultaneous acquisition of temperature, depth, and intensity images. Experimental results demonstrate the system's capability to image the target at kilometer-scale distances.