Abstract

Coherent lidars incorporate inherently a polarization-sensitive detection. Only the component of the backscattered radiation that is polarized parallel to the local oscillator laser field is detected. Moreover, monostatic laser Doppler velocimeters may utilize a Brewster-plate transmit-receive (TR) switch and the receiver detects the right circular polarization of a wave reflected from a left circular polarization transmitted beam. Thus the basic target characterization goes beyond the scalar target reflectivity. It is important to know, in principle, the full reflectivity matrix that includes polarization dependence of the reflection process.

© 1983 Optical Society of America