Noise filtering strategy in photon-counting laser radar using the multi-gates detection method

Single-photon detector possesses the ultra-high sensitivity, so that a photon, whatever signal or noise, can trigger the avalanche output. Due to the existing unavoidable noise, false alarms triggered by noise become the biggest barrier in the application of photon-counting laser radar based on the single-photon detector. In this paper, the multi-gates detection method is proposed to reduce the false alarm probability. With the proper threshold in the multi-gates detection, signal and noise can be distinguished efficiently. Comparing with non-multi-gates detection, the experimental results show that the multi-gates detection method can filter noise and reduce false alarms efficiently.