Patent ID: 11953722
Assignee: LUMINAR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G

Claim 29:
30. An optical receiver comprising:
an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC);
a light detector element with a top surface oriented toward a received pulse of light, the top surface including a portion configured to receive the pulse of light and via which the pulse of light reaches an active area of the light detector element, the light detector element disposed on the ASIC and configured to produce a pulse of electrical current corresponding to the received pulse of light; and
a protective mask placed over the ASIC so as to (i) cover, from the pulse of light, at least a portion of the ASIC, and (ii) provide an aperture that defines an optical path for the pulse of light through the protective mask to the portion of the top surface of the light detector element, wherein the ASIC includes:
an electronic amplifier configured to amplify the pulse of electrical current to produce a voltage pulse that corresponds to the pulse of electrical current;
one or more comparators, wherein each comparator is coupled to the electronic amplifier and configured to produce an electrical-edge signal when the voltage pulse rises above or falls below a particular threshold voltage; and
one or more time-to-digital converters (TDCs), wherein each TDC is coupled to one of the one or more comparators and is configured to produce a time value corresponding to a time when the electrical-edge signal was received by the TDC, wherein a time of receipt for the received pulse of light is determined based at least in part on one or more time values produced by one or more of the TDCs.