Precision ranging LIDAR using femtosecond fiber lasers

Published

June 17, 2009

Author(s)

Nathan R. Newbury, Ian R. Coddington, William C. Swann

Abstract

We discuss a coherent laser radar that uses two coherent femtosecond fiber lasers to perform absolute ranging at long distance. One coherent femtosecond fiber lasers acts as a source and the other as a local oscillator for heterodyne detection of the return signal from a cooperative target. The system simultaneously returns a time-of-flight range measurement for coarse ranging and an interferometric range measurement for fine ranging. Furthermore, it is insensitive to spurious reflections that can cause systematic errors. The range is measured with 3 m precision in 200 s and 5 nm precision in 60 ms over a 1.5 m ambiguity range. This ambiguity range can be extended to 30 km by simply reversing the roles of the signal and LO sources. We will also discuss the possibilities of using such a system for precision vibrometry and for even more rapid absolute ranging.

Proceedings Title

Coherent Laser Radar Conference, 2009

Conference Dates

June 22-26, 2009

Conference Location

Toulouse

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

absolute laser ranging, coherent lidar, frequency combs

Citation

Newbury, N. , Coddington, I. and Swann, W. (2009), Precision ranging LIDAR using femtosecond fiber lasers, Coherent Laser Radar Conference, 2009, Toulouse, -1, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=902779 (Accessed October 13, 2025)