Enhanced detection of atmospheric-turbulence-distorted 1-microm coherent lidar returns using a two-dimensional heterodyne detector array.
We have employed a two-dimensional multielement heterodyne detector array and demonstrated, for the first time to our knowledge, the enhanced detection efficiency of atmospheric-turbulence-distorted 1-microm coherent lidar returns. The heterodyne lidar signal intensity and statistical signal fluctuation were measured for both a 2 x 2 detector array and a single detector as a function of the atmospheric turbulence parameter C(n)(2). The detector array improved the lidar detection efficiency by a factor of approximately 4, and the statistical signal distribution changed from Rayleigh to Gaussian. This improvement is shown to be consistent with a firstorder analysis.
Chan
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Killinger
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