Eye-safe 2.1-μm Ho lidar for measuring atmospheric density profiles

Abstract

An eye-safe 2.1-μm lidar for monitoring atmospheric aerosols has been developed for the first time, to our knowledge, using a Q-switched 20-mJ, 300-nsec pulsed Ho:YSGG laser operating near 2.0875 μm. Range-resolved lidar returns from atmospheric aerosols were observed at ranges of up to 2000 m. The performance of the direct-detection lidar was demonstrated by measuring the temporal variation of the aerosol profile in the atmospheric boundary layer. A preliminary comparison of the atmospheric backscatter return with the hard target lidar return was made, which yielded an estimate of the atmospheric volume backscatter coefficient β of 6 × 10⁻⁷ m⁻¹ sr⁻¹.

© 1990 Optical Society of America

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