4D Atmospheric Data Retrieval with an Airborne Solid-State LIdar

The proposed Phase I/II program develops a flexible, modular 3D scanner for integration aboard small research aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), with a variety of solid-state coherent lidar sensors. The Phase I effort explores both mechanical and non-mechanical scanner architectures in an effort to benefit both research aircraft and UAV, as well as commercial airliner lidar platforms in the lidar marketplace. The most promising scanner technique will be chosen for Phase II development. The scanner built under Phase II will be modular and versatile, in that it will be a bolt-on unit compatible with several available and emerging transceiver designs, for a variety of airborne experiments. The Phase I further extends the capabilities of coherent lidar wind-sensing technology by developing preliminary design extensions to existing lidar transceivers to incorporate dual polarization reception for aerosol characterization, as well as water vapor and temperature profiling.