Abstract

A dual-CO₂ laser differential-absorption LIDAR (DIAL) system has been developed which incorporates both direct-detection and heterodyne-detection of the same LIDAR returns. This system has been used to compare experimentally the signal-to-noise ratios and statistical properties of the DIAL returns. A description of the experimental system and some preliminary data were presented previously.¹ This paper presents additional data in the context of their application for the laser remote sensing of atmospheric species. Specifically, a comparison is made between the two detection techniques in terms of the increased signal strength accompanied with increased fluctuations of the heterodyne system and the increased accuracy but shorter detection range capability of the direct-detection system.

© 1983 Optical Society of America