Patent ID: 7485862
Filing Date: 2009-02-03
Classification: G01S

Abstract:
1. A LADAR system comprising: (a) a detector optical arrangement defining a current optical field of view; (b) an illumination subsystem configured for transmitting pulsed illumination at different times to each of a plurality of illumination sub-regions of said current optical field of view without moving parts such that each of said illumination sub-regions is illuminated at a different time from others of said illumination sub-regions; and (c) a detection subsystem including one or more detectors deployed for detecting reflected illumination from a corresponding one or more detection sub-region of said current optical field of view, wherein each of said one or more detection sub-regions overlaps a plurality of said illumination sub-regions, an overlap of each of said illumination sub-regions with said detection sub-region defining a LADAR image pixel of resolution finer than said detection sub-region, and wherein the pulsed illumination transmitted to each of said illumination sub-regions is transmitted from the tip of at least one optical fiber, each of said optical fibers defining at least part of a waveguide which includes an optical amplifier deployed for amplifying pulses of said pulsed illumination prior to transmission.