An Ozone DIAL Transmitter Module for Airborne Applications

We propose to develop an autonomous differential absorption lidar (DIAL) transmitter module for measurement of atmospheric ozone profiles from a high altitude unpiloted airborne vehicle (UAV). This UAV based lidar provides a powerful low cost capability for measurement of ozone distributions in the lower stratosphere and troposphere with good spatial resolution over large regions. The UAV places severe constraints on the size, weight, power and operational environment for the laser. A compact Ce:LiCAF laser pumped by a diode-pumped Nd:YAG frequency quadrupled laser, to provide 1mJ energy at 1kHz, tunable over 290-315nm will be built to satisfy these requirements. Ozone measurements from 20km altitude with good horizontal resolution (5km) and accuracy (5-10%) will be obtained using this laser. The laser will be packaged into a replaceable modular transmitter which allows for easy reconfiguration of the UAV for other measurements. This transmitter, together with the water vapor DIAL transmitter recently fabricated by us, will constitute the core of a versatile NASA remote sensing facility. In Phase I we will carry out the wavelength tuning and operational characterization of a bread-board tunable Ce:LiCAF laser, and also design an optimized transmitter. In Phase II the autonomous ozone DIAL transmitter will be built and tested.