Characteristics and Applications of One Dimensional Single Photon LiDAR

Abstract: A challenge when working with optics systems is identifying and locating errors and irregularities in an effective and non-time consuming manner. Getting a view of how light interacts with every individual component in a complex optical system would streamline this process. This report examines the 1D-LiDAR as a tool to use when troubleshooting optical systems. With a 1D-LiDAR setup, different scenarios of applications are investigated and possibilities as well as limitations are discussed. Experiments done on different optical setups show that alignment of optical elements play a key part of getting reliable information about optical systems. It is shown that the resolution of the LiDAR setup is nine millimeters but is dependent on the equipment used. Results show that with free access to a complex optical setup, it is possible to distinguish all elements in the system and their characteristics. Therefore it appears possible to diagnose defect optical elements. It is also shown that the LiDAR can be used to investigate temperature change in optical fibers.