# Super-resolution single-photon imaging at 8.2 kilometers

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.11450 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.11450/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 30 Jan 2020.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Single-photon Image Super-resolution via Self-supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.02033/) (2023)
- [Single-pixel 3D imaging based on fusion temporal data of single photon detector and millimeter-wave radar](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.12439/) (2023)
- [Point upsampling networks for single-photon sensing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.12986/) (2025)
- [3D Reconstruction from Transient Measurements with Time-Resolved Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.09205/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Single-photon light detection and ranging (LiDAR), offering single-photon sensitivity and picosecond time resolution, has been widely adopted for active imaging applications. Long-range active imaging is a great challenge, because the spatial resolution degrades significantly with the imaging range due to the diffraction limit of the optics, and only weak echo signal photons can return but mixed with a strong background noise. Here we propose and demonstrate a photon-efficient LiDAR approach that can achieve sub-Rayleigh resolution imaging over long ranges. This approach exploits fine sub-pixel scanning and a deconvolution algorithm tailored to this long-range application. Using this approach, we experimentally demonstrated active three-dimensional (3D) single-photon imaging by recognizing different postures of a mannequin model at a stand-off distance of 8.2 km in both daylight and night. The observed spatial (transversal) resolution is about 5.5 cm at 8.2 km, which is about twice of the system's resolution. This also beats the optical system's Rayleigh criterion. The results are valuable for geosciences and target recognition over long ranges.