Coherent IR radar technology
Abstract
Recent progress in the development of coherent IR radar equipment is reviewed, focusing on the Firepond laser radar installation and the more compact systems derived for it. The design and capabilities of Firepond as a long-range satellite-tracking device are outlined. The technological improvements necessary to make laser radar mobile are discussed: a lightweight, stable 5-10-W transmitter laser for both CW and pulsed operation, a 12-element HgCdTe detector array, an eccentric-pupil Ritchey-Chretien telescope, and a combination of near-field phase modification and anamorphic expansion to produce a fan beam of relatively uniform intensity. Sample images obtained with a prototype system are shown, and the applicability of the mobile system to range-resolved coherent DIAL measurement is found to be similar to that of a baseline DIAL system.
- Publication:
-
Optical and Laser Remote Sensing
- Pub Date:
- 1983
- Bibcode:
- 1983olrs.book..327G
- Keywords:
-
- Coherent Radar;
- Infrared Radar;
- Laser Applications;
- Optical Radar;
- Technology Assessment;
- Portable Equipment;
- Product Development;
- Radar Imagery;
- Radar Measurement;
- Communications and Radar