US 11,914,037 B2
Lidar time-of-flight and intensity detection signal-path based on phase-coded multi-pulse transmission and single-bit oversampled matched filter detection
Sayyed Mahdi Kashmiri, San Jose, CA (US)
Assigned to Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart (DE)
Appl. No. 16/965,405
Filed by Robert Bosch GmbH, Stuttgart (DE)
PCT Filed Jan. 29, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/052094
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jul. 28, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/149688, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 8, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/624,185, filed on Jan. 31, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0072382 A1, Mar. 11, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 17/26 (2020.01); G01S 7/484 (2006.01); G01S 7/4861 (2020.01); G01S 7/4865 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 17/26 (2020.01) [G01S 7/484 (2013.01); G01S 7/4861 (2013.01); G01S 7/4865 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A light detection and ranging (Lidar) system, comprising:
a light transmission component for transmitting TX light to an object or scene, the light transmission component including;
a light source;
a driver for activating the light source; and
a phase-keyed burst pattern generator coupled to said driver and operable to apply a phase-coded key to the driver for activating the light source in a series of on/off pulses; and
a light receiving component for receiving on/off pulses of RX light reflected from the object or scene, the light receiving component including;
a light detector operable to generate a current signal in response to detecting the RX light;
a time-of-flight circuit associated with said light detector including;
a comparator receiving the signal from said light detector and configured to generate a bit stream corresponding to the on/off pulses of the RX light;
a cross-correlator receiving the phase-coded key and the signal from the comparator and operable to determine the cross-correlation between the phase-coded key and the signal from the comparator and to provide an output signal indicative of the cross-correlation function; and
a peak detector receiving the output signal from the cross-correlator and operable to determine the peak of the cross-correlation function and to generate a time-of-flight signal indicative of the time between the transmission of the TX light and the peak of the cross-correlation function;
a current-domain analog front-end (AFE) receiving the current signal from said light detector, the AFE including a current mirror with two outputs, one of the outputs connected to said comparator to provide the signal from said light detector to the comparator, and
a measurement circuit connected to the other of the two outputs of said AFE, said measurement circuit configured to measure the magnitude of the current signal from said light detector and operable to provide an output signal indicative of the intensity of the RX light received by said light detector.