Kilometer-range, full-Stokes polarimetric imaging LiDAR using fractal superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

Full-Stokes polarimetric imaging light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides rich information about distance, materials, texture, surface orientations, and profiles of objects, and it is an important remote-sensing technology. One major challenge to reach a long distance is to efficiently collect a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2024-07, Vol.125 (4)
Main Authors: Meng, Yun, Zou, Kai, Hao, Zifan, Li, Song, Descamps, Thomas, Iovan, Adrian, Zwiller, Val, Hu, Xiaolong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Detectors
Dwell time
Fractals
Imaging lidar
Lidar
Nanowires
Photons
Polarimetry
Remote sensing
Superconductivity
Surface layers
Target detection
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Summary:Full-Stokes polarimetric imaging light detection and ranging (LiDAR) provides rich information about distance, materials, texture, surface orientations, and profiles of objects, and it is an important remote-sensing technology. One major challenge to reach a long distance is to efficiently collect and detect the echo photons, as for long-range LiDAR, echo photons may become sparse. Here, we demonstrate a full-Stokes polarimetric imaging LiDAR, working at the eye-safe, telecommunication wavelength of 1560 nm, that can reach a range of 4 km. The key enabling technology is a four-channel system with multimode-fiber-coupled, large-area fractal superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. Furthermore, we also explore faster imaging (e.g., pixel-dwell time of 1 ms) of the objects at a shorter distance, approximately 1 km. Our demonstration has significantly extended the working range of full-Stokes polarimetric imaging LiDAR and represents an important step toward practical systems that may enable many applications in remote sensing and the detection and recognition of targets.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/5.0218531