Range Experiments Using a ND:YAG Micropulse Laser
Researcher: Santiel Creekmore
Mentor: Dr. Russel DeYonge
NASA Langely LIDAR Lab
This research effort involved the construction and testing of a tabletop 1.06m
lidar system developed at Langley Research Center. The system consists of a
VEM SW 1064 Microlaser by Litton Inc., an InGaAs detector, and an oscilloscope.
The pulsed laser hit an aluminum plate at various distances from the laser. A
lens near the detector collected the scattered light from the laser. A lens
near the detector collected the scattered light from the plate. The captured
light was then focused onto an InGaAs optical detector. The output form the
detector was measured by an oscilloscope, which showed both the trigger laser
pulse and the pulse scattered from the almium plate. The time difference
between these pulses gives the total distance traveled by the laser pulse.
Results were achieved for several ranging experiments conducted over a 3m range
from the laser in increments of 0.3m.
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