title: Second-generation laser firefly clusters: improved scheme for distributed sensing in the atmosphere.
abstract: We present an improved concept of laser firefly clustering for atmospheric probing, elaborating on previous published work. The laser firefly cluster is a mobile, flexible, and versatile distributed-sensing system, whose purpose is to profile the chemical and the particulate composition of the atmosphere for pollution monitoring, meteorology, detection of contamination, etc. The fireflies are deployed in situ at the altitude of interest and evoke a backscatter response from aerosols and molecules in the immediate vicinity by using a coded laser signal. The enhanced, second-generation system affords better performance at lower energy cost and has a considerably increased scope of application. A numerical example demonstrates the potential of the innovative system.
authors.affiliation: Satellite and Wireless Communication Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva IL-8405, Israel.
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kedar
authors.forename: Shlomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arnon