Device for detecting laser spot with matrix deviometer having a readout circuit and a matrix of photodiodes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9964622-B2
Application number	US-201013518882-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 12, 2010
Priority date	Dec 23, 2009
Publication date	May 8, 2018
Grant date	May 8, 2018

Abstract

In the field of deviometers used for detecting and locating laser spots, and more precisely to a laser spot detector with matrix deviometer, a device comprises a readout circuit exhibiting a matrix of pixels, a matrix of photodiodes produced on a single substrate, said photodiodes each comprising an individual electrode, and a laser pulse detection device. The particular feature of the device resides in the fact that said matrix of photodiodes is hybridized on said readout circuit by way of balls made of flexible and conducting material, such as indium, placed in contact with the pixels of the readout circuit, so that said single substrate constitutes an electrode common to the set of photodiodes and that said individual electrodes are linked to said pixels by said balls.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A device for detecting and locating a laser spot with a matrix deviometer, comprising:
a readout circuit including a matrix of pixels;
a matrix of photodiodes produced on a single substrate, said photodiodes each comprising an individual electrode; and
a laser pulse detection device configured to sense a sum of respective electrical currents from all the photodiodes via the single substrate configured as a common electrode for all the photodiodes,
wherein said matrix of photodiodes is hybridized on said readout circuit used to locate a laser pulse with a precision of less than the size of a pixel by way of balls made of flexible and conducting material placed in contact with the pixels of the readout circuit, said individual electrodes are linked to said pixels by said balls, the laser pulse detection device used to detect an arrival time of a laser pulse is connected to the set of photodiodes through the electrode formed by the single substrate, and the set of photodiodes is configured as a single photodiode.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the laser pulse detection device is integrated into the readout circuit.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the laser pulse detection device is integrated into the single substrate.

4. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the laser pulse detection device is independent of the single substrate and of the readout circuit, and connected electrically to said single substrate.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein location of the laser spot on the matrix of pixels, read during a suitable integration time, is ensured by means of a technique for calculating the barycenter of the laser spot to locate said laser spot on the matrix of pixels, with a precision of less than the size of a pixel.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the laser pulse detection device measures a frequency of the laser pulse, corresponding to the laser spot, to calculate an arrival time of a subsequent laser pulse corresponding to the same laser spot.

7. The device as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the integration time associated with the reading of the matrix of pixels is centered substantially on said arrival time of the subsequent laser pulse.

8. The device as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a complementary laser spot fast detection electronic device.

9. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the photodiode matrix is of CMOS type.

10. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said balls are made of indium.

11. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said single substrate includes:
silicon; or
InGaAs.

12. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said single substrate is n-doped.

13. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said single substrate is p-doped.

14. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the conducting material comprises indium.

15. A device for detecting and locating a laser spot with a matrix deviometer, comprising:
a readout circuit including a matrix of pixels;
a matrix of photodiodes produced on a single substrate, said photodiodes each comprising an individual electrode; and
a laser pulse detection device used to detect an arrival time of a laser pulse, wherein a location of the laser spot on the matrix of pixels, read by the laser pulse detection device during a suitable integration time, is determined by a calculation of a barycenter of the laser spot, to locate said laser spot on the matrix of pixels with a precision of less than a size of a pixel,
wherein said matrix of photodiodes is hybridized on said readout circuit by way of balls made of flexible and conducting material placed in contact with the pixels of the readout circuit, so that said single substrate constitutes an electrode common to the set of photodiodes, said individual electrodes are linked to said pixels by said balls, the laser pulse detection device is connected to the set of photodiodes through the electrode formed by the single substrate.

16. The device as claimed in claim 15 , further comprising a complementary laser spot fast detection electronic device.

17. The device of claim 15 , wherein the laser pulse detection device is configured to sense a sum of respective electrical currents from all the photodiodes via the single substrate configured as a common electrode for all the photodiodes.

18. A device for detecting and locating a laser spot with a matrix deviometer, comprising:
a readout circuit including a matrix of pixels configured to locate said laser spot on the matrix of pixels with a precision of less than a size of a pixel;
a matrix of photodiodes produced on a single substrate, said photodiodes each comprising an individual electrode; and
a laser pulse detection device used to detect an arrival time of a laser pulse and configured to sense a sum of respective electrical currents from all the photodiodes via the single substrate configured as a common electrode for all the photodiodes,
wherein said matrix of photodiodes is hybridized on said readout circuit by way of balls made of flexible and conducting material placed in contact with the pixels of the readout circuit, so that said single substrate constitutes an electrode common to the set of photodiodes, said individual electrodes are linked to said pixels by said balls, the laser pulse detection device is connected to the set of photodiodes through the electrode formed by the single substrate.

19. The device of claim 18 , wherein a location of the laser spot on the matrix of pixels, read by the laser pulse detection device during a suitable integration time, is determined by a calculation of a barycenter of the laser spot.

Assignees

• Belhaire Eric
• Thales Sa

Inventors

• Belhaire Eric

Classifications

• G01S17/06

  Systems determining position data of a target · CPC title

• F41G7/2293

  using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves · CPC title

• F41G7/226

  Semi-active homing systems, i.e. comprising a receiver and involving auxiliary illuminating means, e.g. using auxiliary guiding missiles · CPC title

• F41G3/145

  using a target illuminator · CPC title

• G01S3/784 Primary

  using a mosaic of detectors · CPC title