| Popis: |
We have recently demonstrated the first working coherent laser radar (CLR) using solid-state Tm,Ho:YAG lasers operating at the eyesafe wavelength of 2.09 μm.1 The system has demonstrated accurate velocity and range measuring capability during preliminary field tests. Results to date include horizontal atmospheric wind measurements to 30 km, vertical atmospheric aerosol returns to 4 km, near-horizontal cloud returns to 100 km, and hard target (mountainside) returns from 145 km. All these returns were obtained with a transmitted pulse energy at 2.09 μm of only ~ 20 mJ. The long range cloud and mountainside returns indicate very high atmospheric transmission at the 2.09 μm wavelength Using diode lasers to pump Tm:YAG laser crystals, we have also recently demonstrated the feasibility for developing very compact, rugged, efficient, and long-lived 2 μm CLR systems.2 These very encouraging early results suggest that many remote sensing applications could benefit by using 2 μm CLR systems. |
