Laser radar component technology

The development of the laser soon led to recognition of its potential in radar applications. As radar systems were designed and implemented, however, it became clear that major refinement of the laser sources was needed to meet specific radar transmitter requirements in terms of waveforms, spectral...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the IEEE 1996-02, Vol.84 (2), p.227-267
Main Authors: Melngailis, I., Keicher, W.E., Freed, C., Marcus, S., Edwards, B.E., Sanchez, A., Tso Yee Fan, Spears, D.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bandwidth
Laser beams
Laser radar
Laser stability
Optical design
Power lasers
Radar applications
Radar detection
Radar imaging
Transmitters
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The development of the laser soon led to recognition of its potential in radar applications. As radar systems were designed and implemented, however, it became clear that major refinement of the laser sources was needed to meet specific radar transmitter requirements in terms of waveforms, spectral purity, stability, beam quality, and power. The sensitivity and bandwidth of receivers were also in some cases insufficient, and new enabling detector technologies had to be created. This article provides a framework for much of the component development by describing the wideband high-power carbon dioxide (CO/sub 2/) imaging radar system at the Firepond Laser Radar Research Facility. The paper also details the critical components developed for the Firepond CO/sub 2/ range-Doppler imaging laser radar transmitter as well as transmitters for short-range CO/sub 2/ radars.
ISSN:0018-9219
1558-2256
DOI:10.1109/5.482230