PROCESSING TIME-CORRELATED SINGLE-PHOTON COUNTING DATA TO ACQUIRE RANGE IMAGES

The processing and analysis are described of range data in a time-of-f light imaging system based on time-correlated single photon counting. The system is capable of acquiring range data accurate to 10 mu m at a standoff distance in the order of 1 m, although this can be varied su bstantially. It is shown how fitting of the pulsed histogram data by a combination of a symmetric key and polynomial functions can improve t he accuracy and robustness of the depth data, in comparison with metho ds based on upsampling and centroid estimation. The imaging capability of the system is also demonstrated.