A lidar system includes a laser source, an emission lens configured to collimate and direct a laser beam emitted by the laser source, a receiving lens configured to receive and focus a return laser beam reflected off of one or more objects to a return beam spot at a focal plane of the receiving lens, and a detector including a plurality of photo sensors arranged as an array at the focal plane of the receiving lens. Each photo sensor has a respective sensing area and is configured to receive and detect a respective portion of the return laser beam. The lidar system further includes a processor configured to determine a respective time of flight for each respective portion of the return laser beam, and construct a three-dimensional image of the one or more objects based on the respective time of flight for each respective portion of the return laser beam.