title: High resolution kilometric range optical telemetry in air by radio frequency phase measurement.
abstract: We have developed an optical Absolute Distance Meter (ADM) based on the measurement of the phase accumulated by a Radio Frequency wave during its propagation in the air by a laser beam. In this article, the ADM principle will be described and the main results will be presented. In particular, we will emphasize how the choice of an appropriate photodetector can significantly improve the telemeter performances by minimizing the amplitude to phase conversion. Our prototype, tested in the field, has proven its efficiency with a resolution better than 15 μm for a measurement time of 10 ms and distances up to 1.2 km.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Commun de Métrologie LNE-Cnam (LCM), LNE, 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Joffray
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guillory
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Commun de Métrologie LNE-Cnam (LCM), LNE, 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Radek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Šmíd
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Commun de Métrologie LNE-Cnam (LCM), LNE, 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Márquez
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Commun de Métrologie LNE-Cnam (LCM), LNE, 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Truong
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Informatique et Communications (CEDRIC), Cnam, 292 rue St-Martin, 75003 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alexandre
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Commun de Métrologie LNE-Cnam (LCM), LNE, 1 rue Gaston Boissier, 75015 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wallerand