US Patent 9985071 Active area selection for LIDAR receivers

Techniques provided herein are directed toward providing an optical sensor that reduces noise from sources of light other than the LIDAR transmitter by changing the active area of the sensor of a LIDAR receiver. The optical sensor may include a two dimensional array of single photon avalanche devices (SPADs) with row-select and column-select transistors, where rows and columns are selected based on a predicted spot size and angle of reflected laser light detected at the LIDAR receiver. Among other things, this can eliminate or reduce the need for moving parts within the LIDAR receiver.