Optical design and evaluation of a three-dimensional imaging and ranging system based on time-correlated single-photon counting

The design and operation of a noncontact surface profilometry system based on the time-correlated single-photon-counting technique are described. This system has a robust optomechanical design and uses an eye-safe laser that makes it particularly suitable for operation in an uncontrolled industrial environment. The sensitivity of the photon-counting technique permits its use on a variety of target materials, and its mode of operation does not require the continual presence of an operator. The system described has been optimized for a 1-25-m standoff, has a distance repeatability of <30 mum, and has a transverse spatial resolution of similar to60 mum at a 2-m standoff and similar to400 mum at a 13-m standoff. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.