High-resolution 3D imaging with a low-pixel APD array through multi-beam scanning of fiber-type OPA

To improve the performance of laser scanning 3D imaging, a new multi-beam imaging method based on the fiber-type optical phased array (OPA) is proposed. In the system, the fast scanning multiple beams, coherently combined from the fiber-type OPA, are employed to cover the whole field-of-view (FOV), and each sub-beam is only responsible for a small local FOV; in the meanwhile, a low-pixel APD array is utilized to receive the echoes from the target in the FOV, each pixel of which is also for a corresponding local FOV. Consequently, making use of fast multi-beam scanning and an APD array detector, a fast and high-resolution imaging can be obtained. In this paper, the imaging principle using the multibeam scanning of fiber-type OPA will be first introduced, and then the principle of high-resolution imaging with a lowpixel APD array detector is illustrated. Finally, the 3D imaging experiment of model targets with a proof-of-concept system is presented.