Lidar system with AlInAsSb avalanche photodiode

A lidar system comprising:

• a light source configured to emit pulses of light along a field of view of the light source;
• a scanner configured to scan the field of view of the light source and a field of view of a receiver across a field of regard of the lidar system, wherein:
• the light-source field of view and the receiver field of view are scanned in a scan direction across the field of regard at approximately equal scanning speeds;
• and
• the receiver field of view is offset from the light-source field of view in a direction opposite the scan direction;
• the receiver, wherein the receiver is configured to detect a portion of the emitted pulses of light scattered by a target located a distance from the lidar system, wherein the receiver comprises:
• an aluminum-indium-arsenide-antimonide (AlInAsSb) avalanche photodiode (APD) configured to:
• receive a pulse of light of the portion of the emitted pulses of light scattered by the target;
• and
• produce an electrical-current pulse corresponding to the received pulse of light;
• and
• a pulse-detection circuit configured to receive the electrical-current pulse from the AlInAsSb APD, wherein the pulse-detector circuit comprises:
• a transimpedance amplifier configured to produce a voltage pulse that corresponds to the electrical-current pulse;
• a voltage amplifier configured to amplify the voltage pulse to produce an amplified voltage pulse;
• and
• a comparator configured to produce a digital output signal when the amplified voltage pulse exceeds a particular threshold voltage;
• and
• a processor configured to determine the distance from the lidar system to the target based at least in part on a round-trip time of flight for the received pulse of light to travel from the lidar system to the target and back to the lidar system.