High PRF LiSAF Laser for UAV Water Vapor DIAL

We propose to develop a compact, robust differential absorption lidar (DIAL) for water vapor profiling from an unpiloted aeronautical vehicle (UAV) platform. The key to the innovation of this UAV DIAL is in a small, high performance, diode pumped Cr:LiSAF laser tunable in 830nm range. In a compact and low power consumption configuration, this laser will provide a narrow linewidth and stable 20mJ laser pulses at a high PRF up to 100Hz. These laser characteristics: moderate energy and high PRF are very well suited for high altitude (20km) UAV flights. The novel digital lidar design approach using a moderate laser pulse energy with high PRF allows the laser system to be very compact and robust for ease of deployment on the UAV, while maintaining a lidar performance equal to that of the conventional DIAL system. In Phase I, a breadboard laser with all proposed attributes will be developed and the performance will be demonstrated in the laboratory. A comprehensive design of the lidar system integrated with the laser, will also be performed to meet the UAV operational requirements. SESI's expertise in DIAL design and extensive experience will be directly applied for designing an autonomous system to be produced in Phase II.