Laser imaging system with a linear detector array

A laser imaging system, comprising:

• a laser illuminator to transmit a light beam along a pointing direction;
• a receiver with a detecting device to detect, along the corresponding reception direction, the laser radiation returned by the illuminated objects;
• a device for separation of channels and for scanning to direct the backscattered radiation toward said detecting device and to move in angular rotation said transmission beam so as to scan a predetermined field;
• and
• a device for displaying the detected image corresponding to said field, wherein said detecting device includes a linear array of N juxtaposed elements oriented in the scanning direction and associated with a focusing lens so as to detect the objects in an overall distance interval comprising N successive elemental intervals, the rank of an element identifying a corresponding elemental interval;
• said receiver including an electronic circuit receiving the N detection channels and equipped with circuits for identification of distance through the rank of the detection channel, as well as compensation circuits for the time shift exhibited by the video signals as a function of said distance so as to bring the illuminated objects back to their angular location for the display of the observed field.