Patent ID: 11867843
Assignee: LG INNOTEK CO., LTD.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  H | IPC G  H

Claim 11:
12. A method of operating a single photon counting sensor array, the method comprising:
operating a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system that comprises:
a detector array comprising a plurality of pixels, wherein each pixel comprises one or more detectors, a plurality of which are configured to receive pulses of energy, and
a mask material that is positioned to cover some but not all of the detectors of the plurality of pixels to yield blocked pixels and unblocked pixels so that each blocked pixel is prevented from detecting the pulses of energy; and

by a processor:
receiving characteristic data of signals received by the blocked pixels and the unblocked pixels, and
comparing the characteristic data of the signals received by the blocked pixels with the characteristic data of the signals received by the unblocked pixels to determine a measurement of intrinsic noise in the detector array,

wherein:
each detector comprises a photosensor that comprises:
a surface region of p-type semiconductor material that is positioned to receive light; and
a drift region of n-type semiconductor material, and

each blocked pixel has the mask material positioned over its surface region to block light from entering the blocked pixel through the surface region.