Building blocks for a two-frequency laser lidar-radar: a preliminary study.

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Remote Sensing
• Radar Systems

Background:

• Traditional lidar and radar systems have limitations in spatial resolution and Doppler measurement capabilities.
• Integrating lidar and radar principles offers a potential solution to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically and experimentally investigate a new lidar-radar architecture.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining range and Doppler measurements with lidar's spatial resolution.
• To explore methods for enhancing the system's maximum range.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing radio frequency (rf) modulation of the emitted light beam and direct detection of backscattered intensity.
• Employing a radar-processing chain for range and Doppler measurements.
• Investigating improvements such as pulsed two-frequency lasers and optical preamplification.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated radar processing of an rf-modulated laser beam, showing Doppler and identification capabilities.
• Achieved signal-to-noise ratio improvement through optical preamplification.
• Developed a tunable two-frequency passively Q-switched Nd:YAG laser.

Conclusions:

• The proposed lidar-radar architecture successfully integrates the advantages of both lidar and radar technologies.
• Calculated maximum ranges exceed 20 km with proposed improvements, enabling both range and Doppler measurements.
• Experimental validation of key components confirms the system's potential for advanced remote sensing.