Single-photon imaging system with a fiber optic taper

Abstract

We report a time-of-flight photon-counting imaging system in conjunction with a single-photon detector mounted with a fiber optic taper, which equivalently enlarges the active area of the single-photon detector by 100 times. The field of view of the imaging system is extended from ±0.57° to ±7° by using the fiber optic taper to collect the scattered photons. Since only a single avalanche photodiode is used, the noise level of the system is maintained at a low level. We demonstrate the scanning of the targets at a stand-off distance of 28 m with a centimeter depth resolution.