Ranging and Three-Dimensional Imaging Using Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting and Point-by-Point Acquisition

Time-correlated single-photon counting techniques have been applied to time-of-flight ranging and imaging. This article describes recent progress in photon-counting systems performing surface mapping using point-by-point acquisition of noncooperative targets at short ranges of the order of 1-50 m, as well as measurements on distributed targets at longer ranges of the order of a 100 m to a few kilometers. We describe the measurement approach, the signal analysis methodology and algorithm selection.