Abstract: Provided are a lidar system and an autonomous driving system using the same. The lidar system includes: a light emitter configured to include a light source generating a laser beam and a scanner moving the laser beam from the light source to scan an object with the laser beam; a receiving sensor configured to convert light reflected and received by the object into an electrical signal; and a signal processor configured to include a trans impedance amplifier amplifying an output signal of the receiving sensor, an analog to digital converter converting an output signal of the trans impedance amplifier into a digital signal, and a gain controller varying a gain of the trans impedance amplifier. According to the lidar system, an autonomous vehicle, an AI device, and an external device may be linked with an artificial intelligence module, a drone, a robot, an Augmented or Virtual Reality device, etc.

Abstract: Improved flash light detection and ranging (also referred to herein as “flash LIDAR”) systems and methods for determining the distance to a target object disposed in a field-of-view. A flash LIDAR system can include an array of illuminators, an array of light detectors, and a signal processor/controller, as well as have a field-of-view in which a target object may be disposed. The flash LIDAR system can effectively divide the field-of-view into a plurality of segments, and each illuminator in the illuminator array can be made to correspond to a specific segment of the field-of-view. The flash LIDAR system can also effectively divide the light detector array into a plurality of subsets of light detectors. Like the respective illuminators in the illuminator array, each subset of light detectors in the light detector array can be made to correspond to a specific segment of the field-of-view.

Abstract: A steak tube has a container with an entrance plate and an output plate, a photocathode disposed in the container and configured to emit electrons according to light to be measured, the light having been incident through the entrance plate, and a sweep electrode disposed in the container, having a pair of deflection plates for generating an electric field and a connection lead connected to each deflection plate, and configured to sweep the electrons in a sweep direction along the output plate. An opposing of edges of the deflection plate in a direction of the output plate are formed so as to extend in a direction from the entrance plate to the output plate, the connection lead has a first connection portion electrically connected to the deflection plate, and the first connection portion is connected to the opposing of edges.

Abstract: In a streak apparatus including a streak tube 1 having a vacuum container 1a which has a photocathode 3 at its one end and an output surface 6 at its other end, an accelerating electrode 4 for accelerating photoelectrons, a deflecting electrode 5 formed of a pair of electrodes, and a plurality of focusing magnetic flux generators 12a and 12b for focusing the photoelectrons emitted from the photocathode 3, a deflecting voltage generation circuit 10, an acceleration voltage generation circuit 9, and drive power supplies 13a and 13b for supplying a current to the focusing magnetic flux generators, the plurality of focusing magnetic flux generators 12a and 12b form a main focusing electron lens for forming an electron image, formed on the photocathode 3, on the output surface, and a prefocus lens arranged between the photocathode and main focusing electron lens to focus the photoelectrons, emitted from the photocathode 3, toward the center of the main focusing electron lens.

Abstract: A lidar pulse is time resolved in ways that avoid costly, fragile, bulky, high-voltage vacuum devices—and also costly, awkward optical remappers or pushbroom layouts—to provide preferably 3D volumetric imaging from a single pulse, or full-3D volumetric movies. Delay lines or programmed circuits generate time-resolution sweep signals, ideally digital. Preferably, discrete 2D photodiode and transimpedance-amplifier arrays replace a continuous 1D streak-tube cathode. For each pixel a memory-element array forms range bins. An intermediate optical buffer with low, well-controlled capacitance avoids corruption of input signal by these memories.

Abstract: In order to provide an imaging apparatus that uses an electron-bombarded multiplying tube with an internal solid imaging device with a long life, improved S/N ratio, high resolution, and moreover high sensitivity, an electron-bombarded multiplying tube with a photocathode 13 and a back-illuminated FT-CCD 11 sealed in a vacuum vessel is used as an imaging element. The vacuum vessel is made from a faceplate 12, a ceramic tube 16, and a ceramic stem 17. The photocathode 13 emits photo-electrons from a surface opposite from the incidence plane, in accordance with incident light. The FT-CCD 11 has an incidence plane disposed in the pathway of photo-electrons from the opposite surface. An imaging portion 11a of the FT-CCD 11 has pixels in the vertical direction in the same number as or in greater numbers than the number of output scan lines. A transfer electrode of the imaging portion 11a is constantly applied with a negative voltage during an image accumulation period.

Abstract: The timing by which a CCD camera drive circuit 7 switches the operating state of an interline CCD camera 5 from a charge sweep-out operating state to an exposure operating state is delayed by a control circuit 10 in relation to the time at which measured light R is emitted by a sample 9, making it possible to reduce the noise generated in the interline CCD camera 5 by a neutron beam emitted by the sample 9 concurrently with the measured light R.