Abstract

In 1992, Coherent Technologies, Inc. (CTI) developed a mobile coherent laser radar (Doppler lidar) testbed for the U.S. Air Force Wright Laboratory. Since that time, the mobile unit has been deployed on a number of remote measurement programs in the U.S. and abroad. The Doppler lidar is a flashlamp-pumped system operating at the eyesafe wavelength of 2.09 µm and has been described in detail elsewhere [1]. The system transmits 28 mJ, 175 nsec full width at half maximum (FWHM) pulses at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of ~5 Hz with a transmit/receive aperture size of 10 cm. Measurement applications to date include wake vortex detection and tracking for both civilian and military aircraft [2], windshear and turbulence quantification in and around airport terminals [3], volume backscatter coefficient profiling [4], wind profiling for improved ballistic and parachute drop accuracy, and hard target imaging and reflectivity characterization. This manuscript briefly summarizes sample results from a recent deployment at the site of the new Hong Kong airport. The Doppler lidar was used to characterize terrain-induced windshear and turbulence (TIWT) in the vicinity of the airport.

© 1995 Optical Society of America