title: Measurements of density and temperature profiles in the middle atmosphere with a XeF lidar.
abstract: Density and temperature profiles in the 30-70-km altitude range are measured with a XeF lidar system using Rayleigh scattering. With a 16-W XeF laser at wavelengths 351 and 353 nm, density and temperature accuracies of less than +/-3% and +/-10 K are obtained up to 60 km for an observation time of 15 min. The overall performances are now competitive with and superior to those of traditional Nd:YAG SHG lidars at 532 nm.
authors.affiliation: Kyushu University, Department of Electrical Engineering, Hakozaki Higashiku, Fukuoka 812, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobuchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maeda