Pointing efficiency in Gaussian beam coherent ladar

Area of Science:

• Optics and Photonics
• Remote Sensing
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Coherent ladar systems are susceptible to signal power loss caused by random pointing errors.
• Misalignment between transmitter, receiver, and target degrades system performance.
• A quantitative model is needed to assess the impact of pointing errors on system design and evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple analytic model for the reduction in measured signal power due to pointing errors in coherent ladar.
• To incorporate the correlation between transmitter and receiver pointing errors for monostatic systems.
• To define and derive an expression for "pointing efficiency".

Main Methods:

• Derivation of an analytic expression for average signal power reduction.
• Modeling coherent ladar using Gaussian beams.
• Assuming Gaussian distributions for pointing errors.
• Inclusion of arbitrary correlation between transmitter and receiver pointing errors.

Main Results:

• An analytic expression for pointing efficiency was derived.
• The model quantifies signal power reduction based on pointing error size and correlation.
• The model is applicable to monostatic coherent ladar systems.

Conclusions:

• The derived pointing efficiency model provides a valuable tool for coherent ladar system design.
• Understanding and quantifying pointing error impact is crucial for optimizing ladar performance.
• The model's inclusion of error correlation enhances its applicability to real-world monostatic systems.