Abstract

Existing CO₂ pulsed Doppler lidars utilising aerosol backscatter are in general large, labour intensive and costly. Systems have predominantly used TEA technology, which has limitations with respect to pulse repetition frequency and does not give much scope for varying the parameters of the transmitted pulse.¹ In contrast to these systems, fm/cw devices utilising RF waveguide technology and achieving range resolution by means of focusing are compact, easily transported and have long sealed-off lifetimes. This project is aimed at employing contemporary diffusion-cooled RF technology to develop a compact, high pulse repetition rate (prf) pulsed Doppler lidar which operates in this attractive sealed-off, automonous mode and is capable of high spatial (<100 m) and velocity (+/-0.10 ms⁻¹) resolutions. The instrument should be as flexible as possible allowing different pulse widths (0.1-2.0 μs), repetition rates and wavelengths to be software selectable. The applications for such an instrument would include the analysis of wind fields, species concentrations and consequently fluxes in the planetary boundary layer (implying a range capability of between 3-5 km).

© 1991 Optical Society of America