To detect light from light pulses at the operating wavelength of a light source in a lidar system, a thin-film notch filter is directly deposited on a photodetector or a lens via vacuum deposition or monolithic epoxy. The thin-film notch filter may include an anti-reflective coating such as a pattern-coated dichroic filter having an optical transmission of 90% or greater at in-band wavelengths and less than 5% at out-of-band wavelengths. To deposit the filter onto the photodetector without disrupting electronic connections between the photodetector and an application-specific integrated circuit, the area surrounding the electrodes on the photodetector is kept open using photolithography.