High spatial resolution three-dimensional imaging static unitary detector-based laser detection and ranging sensor

This paper presents a static unitary detector (STUD)-based laser detection and ranging (LADAR) sensor with a 16-to-1 transimpedance-combining amplifier for high spatial resolution three-dimensional (3-D) applications. In order to readout the large size of a photodetector for better results of 3-D information without any reduction of the bandwidth, the partitioning photosensitive cell method is embedded in a 16-to-1 transimpedance-combining amplifier. The effective number of partitioning photosensitive cells and signal-combining stages are selected based on the analysis of the partitioning photosensitive cell method for the optimum performance of a transimpedance-combining amplifier. A prototype chip is fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology. The input referred noise is 41.9 pA/√Hz with a bandwidth of 230 MHz and a transimpedance gain of 70.4 dB·Ω. The total power consumption of the prototype chip is approximately 86 mW from a 1.8-V supply, and the TICA consumes approximately 15.4 mW of it.