Experimental characterization of an infrared focal plane array for flash laser radar imaging

CEA-Leti has developed a 320x256 FPA for 3D flash LADAR active imaging. The readout IC (ROIC) performs time-of-flight (TOF) measurement in addition to 2D intensity imaging with a single emitted laser pulse. The FPA consist of a ROIC hybridized to a 30 mu m pitch HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) array. The illuminator used for testing this FPA is a 1.57 mu m laser producing 8 ns pulses with a maximum energy of 8 mJ per pulse. This paper describes the readout IC pixel architecture and presents ranging performances obtained in laboratory conditions. The first 2D and 3D active images obtained during the first field trial of our prototype LADAR system are presented.