Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026
09:38
Characterizing Far-infrared Laser Emissions and the Measurement of Their Frequencies
Published on: December 18, 2015
Target and atmospheric influence on coherent CO2 laser radar performance
D Letalick1, I Renhorn, O Steinvall
1National Defence Research Institute (FOA), P.O. Box 1165, S-581 11 Linkoping, Sweden.
Applied Optics
|November 1, 1986
Summary
This study uses laser radar signal distributions to assess atmospheric remote sensing and target detection performance. Beam wandering is crucial for glint targets, while Doppler sensing and range gating enhance detection against terrain.
Area of Science:
- Atmospheric remote sensing
- Laser radar technology
- Target detection
Background:
- Coherent laser radar systems are vital for remote sensing and target identification.
- Understanding signal amplitude distributions is key to optimizing radar performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To derive laser radar performance metrics for atmospheric remote sensing and hard target detection.
- To evaluate the impact of different target types and environmental factors on radar accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing experimentally verified signal amplitude distributions from a CO2 laser radar.
- Analyzing performance across various target types: diffuse, semirough, and glint.
- Assessing performance against different terrain backgrounds.
Main Results:
- Gas concentration accuracy and probability of detection were determined.
- Beam wandering significantly impacts performance, particularly for glint targets.
- Doppler sensing and range gating improve target detection in complex terrain.
Conclusions:
- Accurate laser radar performance assessment requires considering beam wandering effects.
- Advanced techniques like Doppler sensing and range gating are effective for enhancing target detection in challenging environments.
Related Concept Videos
01:05Doppler Effect - II
The Doppler effect has several practical, real-world applications. For instance, meteorologists use Doppler radars to interpret weather events based on the Doppler effect. Typically, a transmitter emits radio waves at a specific frequency toward the sky from a weather station. The radio waves bounce off the clouds and precipitation and travel back to the weather station. The radio frequency of the waves reflected back to the station appears to decrease if the clouds or precipitation are moving...
01:26Influence of Earth's Curvature and Atmospheric Refraction on Leveling
During leveling, the Earth's curvature and atmospheric refraction introduce deviations in the line of sight from a true horizontal reference. When the line of sight is leveled, it remains perpendicular to the plumb line only at a single point. Beyond this, it deviates due to the Earth’s curvature, represented by the correction C. For a sight distance D, the deviation can be derived using the relationship:This relationship shows that the deviation increases quadratically with distance. Over a...