1998 Volume 26 Issue 12 Pages 876-880
A coherent lidar is an attractive sensor for atmospheric observation because it can measure wind velocity even in clear air conditions. In this paper, a coherent lidar is presented which uses a microchip laser for a seed and a local source made of Er, Yb: Glass. The microchip Er, Yb: Glass laser module is oscillated at 1.53μm that is, an eye-safe wavelength, and a single frequency output of 16.4 mW is obtained. The injection-seeding diodepumped Er, Yb: Glass laser is side-pumped by two 5-stacked LD arrays. Laser medium size is 1.2×1.2×10 mm. The injection-seeding pulse output of 2.5 mJ is obtained with a repetition rate of 20 Hz and a pumping power of 240 mJ. A detection distance of 800 m is achieved with the S/N ratio over 10.
