Two-photon dual-comb LiDAR imaging

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Nelmes, Alexander J. M., Fletcher, Simon, Longstaff, Andrew, Charsley, Jake M., Wright, Hollie, Reid, Derryck T.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Nelmes, Alexander J. M.
Fletcher, Simon
Longstaff, Andrew
Charsley, Jake M.
Wright, Hollie
Reid, Derryck T.
author_facet Nelmes, Alexander J. M.
Fletcher, Simon
Longstaff, Andrew
Charsley, Jake M.
Wright, Hollie
Reid, Derryck T.
contents Conventional LiDAR uses time-of-flight data from laser pulses scanned across a scene to provide accurate multi-meter-scale three-dimensional models at cm precision, limited by the tens-of-picoseconds precision of time-tagging electronics. Here, by using two-photon dual-comb ranging, we introduce an analog of LiDAR imaging using the time-of-flight of sub-picosecond laser pulses to render cm-scale point-cloud datasets with $μ$m precision. Using only free-running femtosecond lasers, the technique combines absolute accuracy with near-interferometric precision, is applicable to discontinuous surfaces with poor optical quality, and provides a stand-off range exceeding that of other optical metrologies. We demonstrate imaging of an aluminum test object and assess its accuracy by comparing our results with those from a touch-probe coordinate measurement machine. At a stand-off distance of 40 cm, we obtain ranging accuracies of 9 $μ$m - 38 $μ$m, and precisions averaging to 1.0 $μ$m after 500 ms.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_12729
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Two-photon dual-comb LiDAR imaging
Nelmes, Alexander J. M.
Fletcher, Simon
Longstaff, Andrew
Charsley, Jake M.
Wright, Hollie
Reid, Derryck T.
Optics
Conventional LiDAR uses time-of-flight data from laser pulses scanned across a scene to provide accurate multi-meter-scale three-dimensional models at cm precision, limited by the tens-of-picoseconds precision of time-tagging electronics. Here, by using two-photon dual-comb ranging, we introduce an analog of LiDAR imaging using the time-of-flight of sub-picosecond laser pulses to render cm-scale point-cloud datasets with $μ$m precision. Using only free-running femtosecond lasers, the technique combines absolute accuracy with near-interferometric precision, is applicable to discontinuous surfaces with poor optical quality, and provides a stand-off range exceeding that of other optical metrologies. We demonstrate imaging of an aluminum test object and assess its accuracy by comparing our results with those from a touch-probe coordinate measurement machine. At a stand-off distance of 40 cm, we obtain ranging accuracies of 9 $μ$m - 38 $μ$m, and precisions averaging to 1.0 $μ$m after 500 ms.
title Two-photon dual-comb LiDAR imaging
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.12729