Proceedings Article | 19 November 2012
Proc. SPIE. 8526, Lidar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring XIII
KEYWORDS: Laser applications, LIDAR, Semiconductor lasers, Diodes, Transmitters, Space operations, Contamination, Reliability, Space telescopes, Thermography
Laser remote sensing technologies are valuable for a variety of scientific requirements. These measurement techniques
are involved in several earth science areas, including atmospheric chemistry, aerosols and clouds, wind speed and
directions, prediction of pollution, oceanic mixed layer depth, vegetation canopy height (biomass), ice sheet, surface
topography, and others. Much of these measurements have been performed from the ground to aircraft over the past
decades. To improve knowledge of these science areas with transport models (e.g. AGCM), further advances of vertical
profile are required.
JAXA collaborated with NICT and RIKEN started a new cross-sectional 3-year program to improve a technology
readiness of the critical 1-micron wavelengths from 2011. The efficient frequency conversions such as second and third
harmonic generation and optical parametric oscillation/generation are applied. A variety of elements are common issues
to lidar instruments, which includes heat rejection using high thermal conductivity materials, laser diode life time and
reliability, wavelength control, and suppression of contamination control. And the program has invested in several
critical areas including advanced laser transmitter technologies to enable science measurements and improvement of
knowledge for space-based laser diode arrays, Pockels cells, advanced nonlinear wavelength conversion technology for
space-based LIDIRs. Final goal is aim to realize 15 watt class Q-switched pulse laser over 3-year lifetime.
