Performance comparison and testing of single-photon detectors for 1064nm long-distance laser ranging systems

Based on photon counting laser ranging technology, photon counting LiDAR is currently the forefront of active detection technology, the selected laser band is mainly concentrated in 532 nm and 1064 nm, of which the 1064 nm band laser has a higher atmospheric transmittance, for long-distance detection has greater advantages, and has become the primary choice of airborne and satellite-mounted laser ranging system. Single-photon detectors (SPDs) are important devices in LiDAR systems, and the commonly used SPDs are avalanche photodiode (APD), which are classified into InGaAs(P)/InP APDs and silicon-based APDs. There still has been no definitive consensus on which type of SPD architecture optimizes the inherent advantages of photon detection for LiDAR systems in the 1064 nm band, particularly long-range LiDAR, when the optical configuration and laser energy parameters remain identical. Whether high-responsivity detector has practical merits is worthy of exploration. In order to investigate the selection of these two kinds of SPDs for LiDAR systems in the 1064 nm wavelength band, we have set up a long-range measurement experimental system, and successfully carried out a different photon counting APD-based laser ranging experiment. By comparison, the InGaAs(P)/InP detector has higher system detection probability for detecting long-range targets over 100 km, while the Silicon-based detector performs better for detecting near-range targets; in terms of the system's ranging accuracy, the silicon-based detector's system has a higher ranging accuracy because of less influence from noise photons. In all, for ultra-long-distance ranging beyond 100 km, it makes sense to choose InGaAs(P)/InP detector.