Personal LADAR sensor

A personal ladar sensor with a field of view and a wavelength of operation mounted to a personal electronic device, and said personal ladar sensor being mounted inside a radome attached to said personal electronic device, and said radome comprising at least one transparent surface capable of transmitting light at said wavelength of operation, said personal ladar sensor further comprising a semiconductor laser with a modulated laser light output and a diffusing optic for illuminating a scene and at least one light reflecting feature in the field of view of said personal ladar sensor, and a two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors positioned at a focal plane of a light collecting and focussing system, and each of said light sensitive detectors with an output producing an electrical response signal from a light signal, and said light signal produced by reflection from a feature in the scene in a field of view of said personal ladar sensor, a readout integrated circuit with a plurality of unit cell electrical circuits, and each of said unit cell electrical circuits with an input connected to one of said light sensitive detector outputs, and said unit cell electrical circuit with an electrical response signal demodulator, and a range measuring circuit connected to an output of said electrical response signal demodulator, and said range measuring circuit further connected to a reference signal providing a zero range reference for said modulated laser light output,

• said personal ladar sensor further comprising a detector bias circuit connected to at least one voltage distribution grid of said array of light sensitive detectors, and a temperature stabilized frequency reference clock,
• said electrical response signal demodulator comprising an input amplifier with an output connected to an analog shift register comprised of a plurality of analog sampling gates, and each sampling gate with an associated analog memory cell, and a sample clock controlling the timing of each of said sampling gates, said sample clock derived from said temperature stabilized frequency reference clock, and a selector for selecting each of said sampling gates in sequence, and a counter for counting the number of samples, and an output amplifier with an input connected to each of said analog memory cells, and an output control for selecting a sequence of said analog memory cell contents to be output through said output amplifier, and further comprising an input of an analog to digital converter connected to said output amplifier, and an output of said analog to digital converter connected to an input of a digital data processor and producing a sequence of digitized analog samples of said electrical response signal, and said digital data processor programmed to demodulate said electrical response signal by operating on aforesaid sequence of digitized analog samples using a digital processing algorithm, and said digital data processor and digital processing algorithm producing a measurement of range to said light reflecting feature in said field of view of said personal ladar sensor.

A modular ladar sensor with a field of view and a wavelength of operation, said modular ladar sensor further comprising:

• a semiconductor laser with a modulated laser light output and a diffusing optic for illuminating a scene in the field of view of said modular ladar sensor, and a two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors positioned at a focal plane of a light collecting and focusing system, and each of said light sensitive detectors with an output producing an electrical response signal from a reflected portion of said modulated laser light output, a readout integrated circuit with a plurality of unit cell electrical circuits, and each of said unit cell electrical circuits with an input connected to one of said light sensitive detector outputs, and said unit cell electrical circuit with an electrical response signal demodulator, and a range measuring circuit connected to an output of said electrical response signal demodulator, and said range measuring circuit further connected to a reference signal providing a zero range reference for said modulated laser light output,
• a detector bias circuit connected to at least one voltage distribution grid of said array of light sensitive detectors, and a temperature stabilized frequency reference,
• said readout integrated circuit connected to a portable computer at a distal end of a cable, said cable having at least one transmission line within, and said cable further having a plug at a proximal end connecting to said portable computer.

A modular ladar sensor with a field of view and a wavelength of operation, said modular ladar sensor further comprising a semiconductor laser with a modulated laser light output and a diffusing optic for illuminating a scene in the field of view of said modular ladar sensor, and a two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors positioned at a focal plane of a light collecting and focussing system, and each of said light sensitive detectors with an output producing an electrical response signal from a reflected portion of said modulated laser light output, a readout integrated circuit with a plurality of unit cell electrical circuits, and each of said unit cell electrical circuits with an input connected to one of said light sensitive detector outputs, and said unit cell electrical circuit with an electrical response signal demodulator, and a range measuring circuit connected to an output of said electrical response signal demodulator, and said range measuring circuit further connected to a reference signal providing a zero range reference for said modulated laser light output,

• and said modular ladar sensor further comprising a detector bias circuit connected to at least one voltage distribution grid of said array of light sensitive detectors, and a temperature stabilized frequency reference,
• said modular ladar sensor connected through a connector plug to a receptacle of a portable computer, and said connector plug mounted to said modular ladar sensor, and connecting to said receptacle of said portable computer.