In the new designs, Aura sensors enable a 12-fold increase in LiDAR image resolution for a given laser power, reduce system size and weight by up to 30%, and lower costs by up to 40%. These size and cost reductions are achieved through the use of lower-power lasers and smaller optical apertures without compromising system performance. Furthermore, thermal management is simplified because Aura APDs operate at temperatures up to +85 °C without performance degradation, significantly higher than that of traditional components.

Phlux created its Noiseless InGaAs APD technology by adding an antimony alloy to the compound semiconductor manufacturing process. The resulting sensors can operate with APD gains up to 120, allowing them to amplify even the smallest signals above the noise threshold of a connected transimpedance amplifier (TIA). Another advantage of Aura's APDs is their rapid overload recovery, which enables them to detect weaker secondary pulses that closely follow a large pulse.

The Aura APD 200 (200 µm optical aperture) and Aura APD 80 (80 µm optical aperture) sensors are available as bare die or in SMD, submount chip and industry standard TO-46 packages, designed to meet MIL-STD 883.

Typical parameters for both devices are a response of 0.98 A/W at 1550 nm, a spectral range of 950 nm to 1700 nm, and an excess noise factor of 1.86 with an avalanche gain of 40, or 1.08 with an avalanche gain of 10.

With a gain of 10, the equivalent noise power for the Aura APD 200 diode is 17 fW/Hz0.5, its capacitance is 2.4 pF, and its cutoff frequency is 0.7 GHz. The equivalent figures for the Aura APD 80 are 11.1 fW/Hz0.5, 0.6 pF, and 1.8 GHz.

Both devices have a typical operating voltage of -55 to -65 V and a breakdown voltage of -65 V, and their operating temperature range is -40 °C to +85 °C.

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