Analog Devices announced a collaboration with First Sensor to speed the launch of autonomous sensing technology serving unmanned automotive, aerial, and underwater vehicles. As part of the collaboration, Analog Devices and First Sensor are developing offerings that shrink the LIDAR signal chain to enable higher system performance as well as reduce size, weight, power and cost, and develop LIDAR products to serve automotive and industrial applications.

“The first step in our working together is to optimize ADI’s industry leading transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) with First Sensor’s avalanche photodiodes (APDs) so we can offer our customers more powerful and efficient LIDAR solutions, and better support the mass commercial launch of LIDAR systems into the autonomous transportation market,” said Stewart Sellars, general manager, LIDAR, Analog Devices.

Recent developments include multi-channel TIAs specifically designed to convert wide dynamic range photocurrent into a low-impedance voltage signal. Optimizing the interconnection between the APDs and TIAs is critical, as it significantly influences the noise floor and bandwidth achieved. Improvements in these two parameters directly translate to LIDAR systems, which can detect objects at longer range and with higher precision.

For more information, visit www.analog.com/LIDAR.