Wind is one of fundamental meteorological elements describing the atmospheric state. Global wind observation is important to improve the initial conditions essential for numerical weather prediction and meteorological studies. A Doppler wind Lidar (DWL) is a promising approach for global wind profiling. We conduct feasibility study to realize global 4D wind observation from space. In the paper, we describe feasibility study of space-based DWL for future global wind profiling.
Most of space-based observing systems make water-vapor- and temperature-related measurements, while spacebased observing systems for wind measurement is limited. The current passive space-based observing systems for wind measurement has a large coverage area and high temporal and horizontal resolutions but has a low vertical resolution. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) wants to develop space-based wind profiling systems. A Doppler Wind Lidar (DWL) is a useful and power technology for wind measurement and it can be designed as compact mobile, airborne, and space-based systems. DWL would provide us with a wind profile having high vertical resolution, low bias, and good precision, and it is necessary to fill the gap of current observations. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is developing a single-frequency high-energy Tm,Ho:YLF laser, 2-μm key technology and instrument for a future space-based coherent DWL. We demonstrated the Tm,Ho:YLF laser producing a pulse energy of 125 mJ operating at 30 Hz meeting requirements for the future spacebased coherent DWL. In the paper, we will describe recent progress at NICT.
The realization of three-dimensional global wind profile measurements provides significant benefits, such as improvement in the precision of numerical weather forecasts and understanding of the causes of climate change. A spaceborne coherent Doppler wind lidar is considered to be the most powerful instrument for providing accurate tropospheric wind profiles with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Conductively cooled techniques are also important for spaceborne lidar applications because they have several advantages over liquid cooling systems. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is conducting feasibility studies of conductively cooled, Q-switched 2 μm Tm,Ho:YLF lasers to meet a requirement for a spaceborne CDWL. In recent years, the energy extraction efficiency from Tm,Ho:YLF lasers has been improved dramatically by reviewing the laser rod parameters and the resonator design. In this study, we report on a single-frequency, Q-switched Tm,Ho:YLF master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA), which meets the specifications of a spaceborne CDWL transmitter. The MOPA consists of a 3.86-mlong ring oscillator and a single-pass amplifier. For the single-pass amplification, an average output power of 3.95 W, which corresponds to a pulse energy of 131.7 mJ, was obtained at a pulse repetition frequency of 30 Hz and a cooling temperature of -40°C.
A 2-micron Ho:YLF laser end-pumped by 1.94-micron Tm:fiber laser was developed. A ring resonator oscillator of 3 m length and amplifier system was adopted. The laser was operated at high repetition rates of 200-5000 Hz in room temperature. The amplifier outputs were about 7.4W in CW and more than 6 Win Q-switch operation of repetition rates more than 500 Hz. This laser was developed to be used for coherent wind and CO2 measurements. Then, injection seeding was applied to the ring resonator and single mode laser emission was obtained. The laser was used for Doppler wind lidar measurements and wind profiles were obtained.
We report on a design strategy for a Tm,Ho:YLF laser transmitter capable of 125 mJ pulse energy at 30 Hz. Using the results of simulations and experiments, total efficiencies were compared for two different configurations. One is the oscillator operating at 193 K, and the other is the master oscillator and power amplifier operating at 233 K. In the latter case, an extensive cooling system is not required, while the laser efficiency becomes lower. Numerical simulations were performed by using a simple rate equation model. In order to validate the results of simulations, the laser experiments were made with a conductively cooled, side-pumped Tm,Ho:YLF laser in the temperature range of 195-228 K. Based on these results, an optimum configuration to achieve the 125-mJ pulse energy are discussed.
We are developing a 2-micron Ho:YLF laser end-pumped by Tm:fiber laser. The oscillator has ring resonator of 3m
length. The laser is operated at high repetition rate of 200-5000 Hz in room temperature. The oscillator and amplifier
system showed outputs of about 9W in CW and more than 6W in Q-switched operation. This laser will be used for wind
and CO2 concentration measurements.
National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has made efforts in order to develop a 2-μm coherent lidar for measuring CO2 concentration and line-of-sight (LOS) wind speed. Experimental horizontal CO2 measurements were made to examine the detection sensitivity of the 2-μm coherent lidar in April and May, 2008, and October, 2009. Experimental vertical CO2 measurements were made for the Greenhouse gas Observing SATellite (GOSAT) data products validation in February 2010 and in January and February 2011. Bias and random error in the LOS wind speed measurements were also investigated in order to evaluate of the 2-μm coherent lidar for wind measurements in 2010. In the paper, we present an overview of our 2-μm coherent lidar developed at the NICT and also of the experimental results.
A dual-wavelength Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 and 1319 nm is useful as a light source for simultaneous
lidar observations of a canopy height and a normalized difference vegetation index. In this study, simultaneous dualwavelength
lasing was achieved in a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser by optimizing the resonator designs for both
wavelengths and by adjusting a time interval between two Q-switch trigger pulses. Q-switched pulse energies of 6.9 and
6.2 mJ were obtained at 1064 and 1319 nm, respectively. A pulse-to-pulse amplitude fluctuation at each wavelength was
then measured to be less than ±9%.
We have developing two types of 2micron conductive-cooled lasers for wind and CO2 measurements. One type of lasers is side pumped Tm,Ho:YLF laser operated at 20-40Hz. The laser rod is cooled down to -80C and laser diodes are
operated at normal temperature in a vacuum container. With this type of laser, we have built up a coherent lidar system
which is used to measure wind and CO2 concentration. Ho:YLF laser end-pumped by Tm:fiber laser is another type
oscillator which will be operated at high repetition rate of 200-300 Hz in normal temperature. The laser will have an
amplifier. These lasers are conductive-cooled, solid-state, eye-safe and suitable for space applications.
Most every aspect of our lives depends upon plants, trees and grasses, i.e. vegetation. Not only they make us relaxant,
feed us, but also they absorb carbon dioxide, and provide us with oxygen. Therefore, it is very important to watch the
spatial distribution of vegetation biomass and changes in biomass over time, representing invaluable information to
improve present assessments and future projections of the terrestrial carbon cycle. This paper proposes an ISS-JEM-EF
borne lidar for taking actively the range-resolved NDVI value using dual wavelength (660nm/1320nm) pulsed laser
transmitters and to measure the canopy height simultaneously using an imaging detection system with a 2D array detector
for information of vegetation biomass.
An optimum design of neodymium lasers operating near 1320 nm was experimentally investigated. A conductively
cooled Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with two birefringent filter plates produced 18 mJ of energy at 1319 nm. On the other
hand, a Nd:YLF laser allowed us to achieve operations at a single emission line without wavelength selectors because of
its favorable birefringent properties. An output energy of 42 mJ in a single Q-switched pulse at 1313 nm was obtained
with a c-cut Nd:YLF rod.
We developed a coherent 2-μm differential absorption and wind lidar to measure CO2 concentration and line-of-sight
wind speed. The wavelength of on-line laser was set at the R30 absorption line center of CO2 and the atmospheric
transmission for the on-line backscattered signal caused by CO2 is large. Measurable range of CO2 measurement was
limited. A laser frequency offset locking system was installed into the laser system to improved measurable range of
CO2 measurement. Two single-frequency continuous wave lasers are used for the laser frequency offset locking. One
laser (center, λCenter) of the two continuous lasers is directly locked to the R30 absorption line center of CO2 and the other
(on-line, λOn) is frequency-shifted to λCenter laser. Although long-range CO2 measurement depends on the laser frequency offset, the installation of the laser frequency offset realized vertical CO2 measurement in a range of up to the
upper troposphere.
A deep-blue light source is useful for various vegetation studies because strong absorption features of chlorophyll a and
b exist in this wavelength region. Second-harmonic generation of quasi-three-level Nd-doped lasers operating around
900 nm allows us to produce high-energy deep-blue light suitable for remote sensing of vegetation. Currently, we are
developing a high-energy, Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser operating at 914 nm. Preliminary experiments were performed in
a four-level Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm. An output energy of 42 mJ in a single Q-switched pulse with 11-ns
pulse length was obtained for a incident pump energy of 653 mJ at 10 Hz.
We have developed 2micron Q-switched lasers with conductive-cooled side pumped laser head. Q-switched output of 100mJ at 20Hz has been achieved in a Tm,Ho:YLF laser oscillator with a composite rod. The experiments showed that very good thermal conduction is held between rod and heat sink. This laser head may be used for laser amplifier of 500mJ output. Another type of Tm,Ho:YLF laser head has been developed for the oscillator of 50-100mJ output at 20-40Hz. These 2micron lasers are applied to coherent lidar systems, which will be used to measure atmospheric CO2 and wind profiling.
Thulium and holmium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) ceramic materials are investigated.
Compared with YAG crystal, there is hardly any spectroscopic difference between ceramic and
crystal at the same doping level. Laser oscillation was successfully carried out under quasicontinuous-
wave diode pumping. Optical-to-optical efficiency higher than 5% was achieved. It was
calculated that total absorbed power hardly changes around 783 nm with a bandwidth of about 7
nm using a diode array of 3.5-nm linewidth as a pump source.
We developed a diode-side-pumped Tm:GdVO4 laser with a conductively cooled pump head as a pump source of a Ho
laser. The laser produced an output energy of 32 mJ at a pulse repetition frequency of 5 Hz. In addition, continuous-wave
operation was demonstrated in a Tm,Ho:GdVO4 microchip laser. An output power of 0.43 W and a slope
efficiency of 33% were achieved near room temperature.
We have studied a 2-micron airborne coherent Doppler lidar to observe wind profile downward from flying object. We
investigated the algorithms required to extract the Doppler-shifted frequency compensating for a speed of the flying
object. The airborne experiments were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the airborne coherent Doppler lidar
from a flying object in 2002, 2004 and 2006. We extracted the Doppler-shifted frequency corresponding to aircraft
speed with developed algorithms and obtained wind profiles through airborne experiment. To examine wind profiles
measured by the airborne coherent Doppler lidar, we compared those profiles with profiles measured by a
GPS-dropsonde and a windprofiler. Although the volume measured by the airborne coherent Doppler lidar system
differed spatially and temporally from those by other instruments, the wind profiles observed by the airborne coherent
Doppler lidar agreed well with those observed by other instruments.
A conductively cooled pump head with a triangular-prism laser rod is proposed and discussed. A pump absorption efficiency of ~80% and better pump intensity distribution were expected from the results of simulations. An output energy of 95 mJ and an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of 10% were obtained at a pulse repetition frequency of 5 Hz in normal-mode operation. Using a fused-silica acousto-optic Q-switch, the laser produced an output energy of 21 mJ in a single Q-switched pulse. No parasitic oscillation occurred even when the laser rod with polished lateral surfaces was used in Q-switched operations.
Space-borne Doppler lidar is expected to make wind profile observations on a global scale with an accuracy of 1 to 2 m/s. It may solve the problem of the shortage of the accuracy and distribution in the current wind data. We have studied an eye-safe coherent Doppler lidar (CDL) model that could be deployed on the exposed facilities of Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and that would meet the science requirements. We have good prospects of 500mJ output at 10Hz in a conduction cooling sub-scale laser, which could be a small model of space-borne laser for JEM/CDL. We are making studies on improving the system’s efficiency, reducing its weight, and establishing the fundamental technologies involved. Research on another possibility, e.g. a free flyer, for a demonstration mission besides of JEM/CDL is also valuable to be considered. Development of algorithm for application of coherent lidar system is also in progress through air-borne experiments and ground-based observations.
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