Receiving Unit of a Precision Pulsed Laser Range Finder

Introduction. At present the most accurate estimate of ranges is specific to laser range finders using phase measuring techniques. Design of a pulsed laser range finder with short probe pulses enabling one to gain high resolution and accuracy of estimate of target range close to the phase range finders is the topical problem.

Aim. Development of a receiving part of the pulsed laser rangefinder with precision characteristics; determination of the accuracy of the measurements; description of the hardware.

Materials and methods. The construction of the receiving part of the precision pulsed laser rangefinder with a two-scale digital range estimation system implemented by counting clock generator pulses and an analog integrator that specifies the discrete range estimation was considered. Using the methods of mathematical statistics, the energy characteristics of the rangefinder were determined: the accuracy of the range estimation and the probability of false alarm were provided by the developed scheme. The hardware of the precision laser rangefinder was described.

Results. The principles of implementation of the receiving part of the laser rangefinder with a two-scale digital system for estimating the distance to the object were given. The results of numerical simulation of rangefinder characteristics were obtained, confirming the accuracy of range estimation of the order of millimeters. In the implemented rangefinder scheme, the probability of false alarm was 10-4 during 200 s of observing signal and noise mixture. The hardware of the precision laser rangefinder with a digital two-scale range estimation was proposed.

Conclusion. The implemented laser range finder approaches to the capabilities of phase laser rangefinders in terms of potential accuracy of distance up to millimeters, while implementing the specified parameter in rapidly changing phono-target environment. Using of short probing pulses with a duration of 10...20 ns allows one to achieve a resolution of up to 1.5 m. In contrast to the phase rangefinder the range can be estimated from a single probe pulse.

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