Masaharu Imaki

Development of 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation hard-target differential absorption lidar system for CO 2 sensing

We have demonstrated the 1.6 mum cw modulation hard-target differential absorption lidar system for CO(2) sensing. In this system, ON and OFF wavelength laser lights are intensity modulated with cw signals. Received lights of the two wavelengths from the hard target are discriminated by modulation frequencies in the electrical signal domain. The optical circuit is fiber based, and this makes the system compact and reliable. It is shown that a stable CO(2) concentration measurement corresponding to a fluctuation of 4 ppm (rms) (ppm is parts per million) has been achieved in 32 s measurement intervals and the 1 km path.

Feasibility study on 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for measurement of global CO 2 concentration from a satellite

A feasibility study is carried out on a 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for measurement of global CO(2)concentration from a satellite. The studies are performed for wavelength selection and both systematic and random error analyses. The systematic error in the differential absorption optical depth (DAOD) is mainly caused by the temperature estimation error, surface pressure estimation error, altitude estimation error, and ON wavelength instability. The systematic errors caused by unwanted backscattering from background aerosols and dust aerosols can be reduced to less than 0.26% by using a modulation frequency of around 200 kHz, when backscatter coefficients of these unwanted backscattering have a simple profile on altitude. The influence of backscattering from cirrus clouds is much larger than that of dust aerosols. The transmission power required to reduce the random error in the DAOD to 0.26% is determined by the signal-to-noise ratio and the carrier-to-noise ratio calculations. For a satellite altitude of 400 km and receiving aperture diameter of 1 m, the required transmission power is approximately 18 W and 70 W when albedo is 0.31 and 0.08, respectively; the total measurement time in this case is 4 s, which corresponds to a horizontal resolution of 28 km.

Performance improvement and analysis of a 1.6 μm continuous-wave modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for CO 2 sensing

In a previous study, we developed a 1.6 μm continuous-wave (cw) modulation laser absorption spectrometer system for CO(2) sensing and demonstrated the measurement of small fluctuations in CO(2) corresponding to a precision of 4 parts per million (ppm) with a measurement interval of 32 s. In this paper, we present the process to achieve this highly specific measurement by introducing important points, which have not been shown in the previous study. Following the results of preliminary experiments, we added a function for speckle averaging on the optical antenna unit. We additionally came up with some ideas to avoid the influences of etalon effects and polarization dependence in optical components. Because of the new functions, we realized a calibration precision of 0.006 dB (rms), which corresponds to a CO(2) concentration precision of less than 1 ppm for a 2 km path. We also analyzed the CO(2) sensing performance after the improvements described above. The measured short time fluctuation of the differential absorption optical depth was reasonably close to that calculated using the carrier-to-noise ratio of the received signal.

3D imaging LADAR with linear array devices: laser, detector and ROIC

This paper introduces the recent development of 3D imaging LADAR (LAser Detection And Ranging) in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. The system consists of in-house-made key devices which are linear array: the laser, the detector and the ROIC (Read-Out Integrated Circuit). The laser transmitter is the high power and compact planar waveguide array laser at the wavelength of 1.5 micron. The detector array consists of the low excess noise Avalanche Photo Diode (APD) using the InAlAs multiplication layer. The analog ROIC array, which is fabricated in the SiGe- BiCMOS process, includes the Trans-Impedance Amplifiers (TIA), the peak intensity detectors, the Time-Of-Flight (TOF) detectors, and the multiplexers for read-out. This device has the feature in its detection ability for the small signal by optimizing the peak intensity detection circuit. By combining these devices with the one dimensional fast scanner, the real-time 3D range image can be obtained. After the explanations about the key devices, some 3D imaging results are demonstrated using the single element key devices. The imaging using the developed array devices is planned in the near future.

Laser absorption spectrometer using frequency chirped intensity modulation at 1.57 μm wavelength for CO 2 measurement

We have demonstrated the laser-absorption spectrometer system using frequency chirped intensity modulation at 1.57 μm wavelength for measurement of CO(2) concentration. Using this technique, backscattered laser radiation from different ranges can be discriminated in the frequency domain of the electrical signal. We have reported the discrimination of two signals from the targets with different ranges. It is shown that stable measurements with short time fluctuation corresponding to 4 ppm (rms) were obtained with 32 s measurement intervals. Furthermore, there is qualitative good agreement on, at least, the diurnal changes between the results of the laser absorption spectrometer system and the in-situCO(2) sensor.

Development of long range, real-time, and high resolution 3D imaging ladar

In the previous study, we have introduced the concept of the real-time 3D imaging LADAR (LAser Detection And Ranging) using linear array receiver. In this paper, we demonstrate a long range, high resolution, and high speed 3D imaging using the developed system. The system consists of in-house-made key components. The linear array receiver consists of the previously reported APD array and the ROIC array assembled in one package. We newly developed the transmitting optics using pupil divide method which realizes a uniform illumination on a target. By combining these devices with the one dimensional fast scanner, we realized a 256 × 256 pixels range imaging with a on-line frame rate of more than 10 Hz at a distance of more than 1 km.

Path-averaged atmospheric CO2 measurement using a 1.57 μm active remote sensor compared with multi-positioned in situ sensors

The Green-house gas Observation SATellite (GOSAT) was launched to determine the continental CO2 inventories. Its sensor is based on a passive remote sensing technique developed to achieve less than 1% relative accuracy for atmospheric CO2 measurements. Meanwhile, a laser remote sensor with the differential absorption spectrometry has been developed for a candidate of a future space-based mission to observe the atmospheric CO2 or other trace gases. A prototype of the newly developed active remote sensor has been performed to demonstrate a properly validated performance for ground-based and airborne systems. This study shows the results of the in-house and field measurements. The in-house measurement demonstrated the linearity with the correlation coefficient of over 0.99 between the instrumental response and the known CO2 density in the cell. The diurnal variation obtained from our system is consistent (correlation coefficient of 0.95) with that of multi-positioned in situ sensors, indicates the spatial responsibility of the atmospheric CO2 obtained from our remote sensor with two ~3-km observation paths.

Recent development of 3D imaging laser sensor in Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

We have been developing 3-D imaging laser sensors for several years, because they can acquire the additional information of the scene, i.e. the range data. It enhances the potential to detect unwanted people and objects, the sensors can be utilized for applications such as safety control and security surveillance, and so forth. In this paper, we focus on two types of our sensors, which are high-frame-rate type and compact-type. To realize the high-frame-rate type system, we have developed two key devices: the linear array receiver which has 256 single InAlAs-APD detectors and the read-out IC (ROIC) array which is fabricated in SiGe-BiCMOS process, and they are connected electrically to each other. Each ROIC measures not only the intensity, but also the distance to the scene by high-speed analog signal processing. In addition, by scanning the mirror mechanically in perpendicular direction to the linear image receiver, we have realized the high speed operation, in which the frame rate is over 30 Hz and the number of pixels is 256 x 256. In the compact-type 3-D imaging laser sensor development, we have succeeded in downsizing the transmitter by scanning only the laser beam with a two-dimensional MEMS scanner. To obtain wide fieldof- view image, as well as the angle of the MEMS scanner, the receiving optical system and the large area receiver are needed. We have developed the large detecting area receiver that consists of 32 rectangular detectors, where the output signals of each detector are summed up. In this phase, our original circuit evaluates each signal level, removes the low-level signals, and sums them, in order to improve the signalto- noise ratio. In the following paper, we describe the system configurations and the recent experimental results of the two types of our 3-D imaging laser sensors.

Underwater three-dimensional imaging laser sensor with 120-deg wide-scanning angle using the combination of a dome lens and coaxial optics

Abstract. We developed an underwater three-dimensional (3-D) imaging sensor using a 532-nm laser. The sensor system combines a dome lens with coaxial optics to realize a wide-scanning angle of 120  deg (horizontal)×30   deg (vertical) while having a compact size of 25-cm diameter and 60-cm length. A detector sensitivity time control circuit and a time-to-digital converter are used to detect a small signal and suppress the unwanted backscattered signals due to marine snow. 3-D imaging of the seafloor with 20-m width and 60-m length was demonstrated in the sea around Ishigaki Island, Japan.

Pulsed 3D laser sensor with scanless receiver

3D laser sensor is a real-time remote sensor which offers 3D images of scenes. In this paper, we demonstrate a new concept of the pulsed 3D laser sensor with 2D scanning of a transmitting beam and a scan-less receiver. The system achieves the fast and long-range 3D imaging with a relatively simple system configuration. We newly developed a highaspect APD array, a receiver IC, and a range and intensity detector. By combining these devices, we realized a 160 × 120 pixels range imaging with an on-line frame rate of 8 Hz at a distance of about 50 m.