Development and testing of a long-range airborne CO2 DIAL chemical detection system

N. Scott Higdon; Daniel C. Senft; Marsha J. Fox; Carla M. Hamilton; Brian T. Kelly; James A. Dowling; Diego F. Pierrottet; David R. Dean; Dale A. Richter; Ronald R. Bousek

doi:10.1117/12.330237

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3 November 1998 Development and testing of a long-range airborne CO2 DIAL chemical detection system

N. Scott Higdon, Daniel C. Senft, Marsha J. Fox, Carla M. Hamilton, Brian T. Kelly, James A. Dowling, Diego F. Pierrottet, David R. Dean, Dale A. Richter, Ronald R. Bousek

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Proceedings Volume 3433, Propagation and Imaging through the Atmosphere II; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.330237
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

The Air Force Research Laboratory has developed and tested an airborne CO₂ differential absorption lidar system for the remote detection of chemicals. The Laser Airborne Remote Sensing DIAL system uses topographic backscatter to provide a long-range measurement of the column-content absorption of chemical plumes in the path of the laser beam. A high-power CO₂ laser, capable of operation on multiple isotopes, and a Mersenne telescope constitute the major transceiver components. In addition to the laser, telescope, and transceiver optics, several onboard diagnostic instruments were mounted on the flight bench to monitor and optimize the system performance during airborne operation. The flight bench, electronics racks, and data acquisition and experiment control stations were designed to be integrated onto the AFRL C-135E research aircraft, and to utilize the existing pointing and tracking system on the aircraft.

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N. Scott Higdon, Daniel C. Senft, Marsha J. Fox, Carla M. Hamilton, Brian T. Kelly, James A. Dowling, Diego F. Pierrottet, David R. Dean, Dale A. Richter, and Ronald R. Bousek "Development and testing of a long-range airborne CO2 DIAL chemical detection system", Proc. SPIE 3433, Propagation and Imaging through the Atmosphere II, (3 November 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.330237

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