Optical noise in a coherent lidar

Yitzhak Weissman

doi:10.1117/12.150995

13 August 1993 Optical noise in a coherent lidar

Yitzhak Weissman

Proceedings Volume 1971, 8th Meeting on Optical Engineering in Israel: Optical Engineering and Remote Sensing; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.150995
Event: 8th Meeting in Israel on Optical Engineering, 1992, Tel Aviv, Israel

Abstract

Optical coherent LIDARs are used for remote sensing in both atmospheric and space environments. These systems offer higher angular resolution with significantly more compact components as compared to the alternative microwave-based systems. One of the factors which limits the range of coherent LIDARs is the coherence length of the source. It is well known that the signal in a coherent LIDAR system undergoes a significant decay over a range comparable to the source coherence length. An often overlooked fact is the range-associated increase of the optical noise. In this paper we present the spectral power density of the optical noise in a heterodyne LIDAR system, and explore its dependence on the range and the local oscillator power. The magnitude of the optical noise increases with range, thus accelerating the signal-to-noise degradation. Another interesting observation is that in general, the signal- to-noise ratio is not a monotonically increasing function of the local oscillator power.

Citation Download Citation

Yitzhak Weissman "Optical noise in a coherent lidar", Proc. SPIE 1971, 8th Meeting on Optical Engineering in Israel: Optical Engineering and Remote Sensing, (13 August 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.150995

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KEYWORDS

Signal to noise ratio

LIDAR

Sensors

Oscillators

Atmospheric optics

Optical engineering

Target detection

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