A powerful eyesafe infrared aerosol lidar. Application of simulated raman backscattering of 1.06 micro meter radiation

A powerful infrared aerosol lidar operating at the eyesafe wavelength of 1.56 mu m has been developed. More than 140 mJ per pulse are obtained from stimulated Raman backscattering narrow-band Nd:YAG laser radiation in deuterium. The mobile lidar system was successfully applied during the VAST and MAPTIP international aerosol field campaigns in 1992 and 1993. A range between 0.3 and more than 10 km is demonstrated for slant-path measurements in the presence of aerosols or cirrus clouds.