title: Analysis of the performance of a coherent pulsed fiber lidar for aerosol backscatter applications.
abstract: The antenna and the Doppler estimation characteristics of a coherent pulsed lidar intended for short-range aerosol backscatter applications have been analyzed. The system used fiber-optic interconnects and operated at a wavelength of 1.548 microm. The range dependence of the signal for various bistatic and monostatic antenna configurations has been determined. The system operated in a low-pulse-energy, high-pulse-repetition-rate mode, and the Doppler estimates from the return signal were achieved with a multipulse accumulation procedure. The expected performance of the accumulation in this low-photocount regime was compared with the data obtained from the system, and a reasonable level of agreement was demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: QinetiQ, Malvern, Worcestershire, United Kingdom. gnpearson@qinetiq.com
authors.forename: Guy N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Pearson
authors.forename: P John
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Justin R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Eacock
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harris