US 12,259,498 B2
DRAM-based LIDAR pixel
Robert Henderson, Edinburgh (GB); and Hod Finkelstein, Berkeley, CA (US)
Assigned to Sense Photonics, Inc., Durham, NC (US)
Filed by Sense Photonics, Inc., Durham, NC (US)
Filed on Jan. 22, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/155,871.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/966,171, filed on Jan. 27, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0231782 A1, Jul. 29, 2021
Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 7/484 (2006.01); G01S 7/4861 (2020.01); G01S 7/4915 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/4861 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4817 (2013.01); G01S 7/484 (2013.01); G01S 7/4915 (2013.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) detector circuit, comprising:
a memory device comprising a non-transitory storage medium that is configured to store histogram data in respective memory bins; and
at least one control circuit configured to:
receive detection signals from one or more photodetector elements;
execute a first memory operation to update the histogram data in the respective memory bins responsive to the detection signals indicating a presence of detection events during a portion of time between pulses of an emitter signal output from a LIDAR emitter element, wherein the first memory operation comprises an increment operation; and
execute a second memory operation to update the histogram data in the respective memory bins responsive to the detection signals indicating an absence of the detection events during the portion of the time between the pulses of the emitter signal, wherein the second memory operation comprises a refresh operation, and
wherein the increment operation or the refresh operation to update the histogram data stored in the respective memory bins of the memory device is completed within the time between the pulses of the emitter signal.