Lite Cycles has developed a new type of eye-safe, range-gated, lidar sensing element based on Solid-state Raman Image Amplification (SSRIA) in a solid-state optical crystal. SSRIA can amplify low-level infrared images with gains greater than 10$+6$/ with the addition of only quantum-limited noise. The high gains from SSRIA can compensate for low quantum efficiency detectors and can reduce the need for detector cooling. The range-gate of SSRIA is controlled by the pulsewidth of the pump laser and can be as short as 30 - 100 cm for nanosecond pulses and less than 5 mm if picosecond pulses are used. SSRIA results in higher SNR images throughout a broad range of incident light levels, in contrast to the increasing noise factor with reduced gain in image intensified CCDs. A theoretical framework for the optical resolution of SSRIA is presented and it is shown that SSRIA can produce higher resolution than ICCDs. SSRIA is also superior in rejecting unwanted sunlight background, further increasing image SNR, and can be used for real-time optical signal processing. Applications for military use include eye-safe imaging lidars that can be used for autonomous vehicle identification and targeting.
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