Light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) signal processing circuitry

An unmanned vehicle system, comprising:

• a vehicle chassis;
• a light detection and ranging apparatus;
• a controller configured to maneuver the vehicle in response to readings from the light detection and ranging apparatus;
• and
• a plurality of mechanisms carried by the vehicle chassis and positioned to maneuver the vehicle in response to inputs from the controller,
• wherein the light detection and ranging apparatus comprises:
• a light sensing module to detect a pulsed light signal and generate a corresponding electrical signal;
• and
• an amplifier module, coupled to the light sensing module, to process the corresponding electrical signal, wherein the amplifier module includes (1) an operational amplifier having an input and an output, wherein the input and the output form a feedback loop, and (2) anti-saturation circuitry coupled to the operational amplifier, wherein the anti-saturation circuitry includes an operational amplifier anti-saturation circuit positioned in the feedback loop of the operational amplifier to receive an output signal from the output of the operational amplifier and to provide a feedback signal to the input of the operational amplifier so as to selectively reduce a gain of the operational amplifier based on a magnitude of the corresponding electrical signal, or to limit the magnitude of the corresponding electronic signal that the operational amplifier receives to a predetermined range, or both.