Typical applications are mid-range topographic mapping and support during the descent and landing phase of a space probe on a celestial body. The objective of Deal is to develop the existing prototype into an advanced pulsed laser sensor demonstrator for near-range space applications like navigation systems for rover vehicles or rendezvous and docking systems. Particular emphasis is given to the compactness of the sensor, to the interconnecting the modules by fibre optics and advanced high-speed signal processing techniques. The modular construction of the sensor comprises an electronic unit and a separate scanner unit connected by fibre optic links. A portable standard computer acts as control, test and data evaluation unit and displays images of the acquired range and intensity.
Deal is a portable active imaging system which is easy to set up and use.
The transmitter employs a single-stack pulsed diode laser running at high repetition rate. The diode laser is driven by a parallel chain of avalanche transistors in contrast to the slower mosfet circuitry used in previous projects. The start of the time duration measurement is taken directly from the electrical signal which fires the laser. To reduce power consumption, thermoelectric cooling has been omitted. The receiver uses the direct detection technique to achieve low complexity.