Diode laser lidar wind velocity sensor using a liquid-crystal retarder for non-mechanical beam-steering.

We extend the functionality of a low-cost CW diode laser coherent lidar from radial wind speed (scalar) sensing to wind velocity (vector) measurements. Both speed and horizontal direction of the wind at ~80 m remote distance are derived from two successive radial speed estimates by alternately steering the lidar probe beam in two different lines-of-sight (LOS) with a 60° angular separation. Dual-LOS beam-steering is implemented optically with no moving parts by means of a controllable liquid-crystal retarder (LCR).

Investigation of spherical aberration effects on coherent lidar performance.

In this paper we demonstrate experimentally the performance of a monostatic coherent lidar system under the influence of phase aberrations, especially the typically predominant spherical aberration (SA). The performance is evaluated by probing the spatial weighting function of the lidar system with different telescope configurations using a hard target. It is experimentally and numerically proven that the SA has a significant impact on lidar antenna efficiency and optimal beam truncation ratio.

Speckle and fringe dynamics in imaging-speckle-pattern interferometry for spatial-filtering velocimetry.

This paper analyzes the dynamics of laser speckles and fringes, formed in an imaging-speckle-pattern interferometer with the purpose of sensing linear three-dimensional motion and out-of-plane components of rotation in real time, using optical spatial-filtering-velocimetry techniques. The ensemble-average definition of the cross-correlation function is applied to the intensity distributions, obtained in the observation plane at two positions of the object. The theoretical analysis provides a description for the dynamics of both the speckles and the fringes.

Speckle-based three-dimensional velocity measurement using spatial filtering velocimetry.

We present an optical method for measuring the real-time three-dimensional (3D) translational velocity of a diffusely scattering rigid object observed through an imaging system. The method is based on a combination of the motion of random speckle patterns and regular fringe patterns. The speckle pattern is formed in the observation plane of the imaging system due to reflection from an area of the object illuminated by a coherent light source.