Abstract

The recent development of a low-pressure CO₂ gain-cell¹ preamplifier for optical receivers has stimulated renewed interest in the technique in the lidar community. Early work in this area² indicated that a gain factor of only 2.5 could be achieved using a 72-cm long gain cell. Because low gain did not appear to justify the added cost and complexity to a lidar system, interest in the technique decreased.

© 1987 Optical Society of America