A Photon-Counting Full-Waveform Lidar*

Abstract

Abstract We present the results of using a photon-counting full-waveform lidar to obtain detailed target information with high accuracy. The parameters of the waveforms (i.e., vertical structure, peak position, peak amplitude, peak width and backscatter cross section) are derived with a high resolution limit of 31 mm to establish the vertical structure and scattering properties of targets, which contribute to the recognition and classification of various scatterers. The photon-counting full-waveform lidar has higher resolution than linear-mode full-waveform lidar, and it can obtain more specific target information compared to photon-counting discrete-point lidar, which can provide a potential alternative technique for tomographic surveying and mapping.