Pulse-compression LIDAR system

A LIDAR system comprising a transmission path and a detection path, the transmission path comprising a laser source and being adapted to emit radiation pulses towards a target which is external to the LIDAR system,

• wherein the transmission path comprises two transfer pathways which are placed in parallel and arranged so as to simultaneously receive, at respective inputs of said transfer pathways, respective portions of a radiation from the laser source, and arranged, at output, to superpose components of each pulse which are delivered by said two transfer pathways, at least one of both transfer pathways comprising:
• a modulator, called a pulse-compression modulator;
• and
• a pulse-compression controller, connected so as to control the pulse-compression modulator in a manner that modulates the pulse component delivered by said transfer pathway,
• so that, during an operation of the LIDAR system, at least two components of each pulse
• are produced simultaneously from the radiation originating from the laser source,
• are superposed within the pulse over a duration of said pulse,
• have respective spectra which are different, and
• at least one of both components of the pulse is phase- or frequency-modulated, and wherein the detection path comprises at least one photodetector and is arranged to fulfill the functions of:
• a measurement path, dedicated to detecting the radiations which correspond one-to-one to the pulses emitted by the transmission path after said pulses have been retroreflected or backscattered by the target, delivering measurement detection signals;
• and
• a reference path, dedicated to detecting the radiations representative of the pulses as emitted by the transmission path, delivering reference detection signals;
• and
• the detection path further comprising a digital processing module which is arranged to receive the measurement detection signals and the reference detection signals, and which is configured to calculate a correlation function between said measurement detection signals and reference detection signals,
• so that the at least one component of each pulse which is modulated, combined with the calculated correlation function, produces a pulse-compression effect.