SPECKLE PHENOMENA ARE A FIRST ORDER CONSIDERATION AND QUITE OFTEN ARE THE DOMINATING FACTOR IN DETERMINING THE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OF A COHERENT OPTICAL LIDAR.

SPECKLE PHENOMENA ARE A FIRST ORDER CONSIDERATION AND QUITE OFTEN ARE THE DOMINATING FACTOR IN DETERMINING THE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE OF A COHERENT OPTICAL LIDAR. THIS EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM IS DIRECTED TOWARD CHARACTERIZING A COHERENT ARRAY RECEIVER FROM THE SPECIFIC VIEWPOINT OF DEVELOPING A "SMART"PROCESSOR WHICH CAN ADAPTIVELY SUM, IN A NON-LINEAR FASHION,THE OUTPUTS FROMTHE HETERODYNING ARRAY TO ACHIEVE AN OVERALL RECEIVER OUTPUT WITH LESS SPECKLE DEGRADATION. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS CONCEPT ENABLES THE ACHIEVEMENT OF EITHER IMPROVED SYSTEM PERFORMANCE OR A REDUCTION IN LASER POWER OR SYSTEM APERTURE FOR THE SAME PERFORMANCE AS A SINGLE ELEMENT COHERENT RECEIVER. THESE RESULTS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT THE DESIGN OF BOTH COHERENT DOPPLER WIND AND COHERENT DIAL SENSORS.