Monte-Carlo calculations of LIDAR returns: Procedure and results

The procedure of the Florence group for calculation of LIDAR return from clouds is briefly outlined. The results of the particular case chosen for a comparison with other groups are presented.     

Deconvolution filtering of ground-based LIDAR returns from tropospheric aerosols

A deconvolution filtering model of multiple scattering in ground-based single field of view (SFOV) LIDAR returns is described. It is based on time series deconvolution techniques. The contribution of multiply scattered photons in SFOV LIDAR returns can be numerically modeled by processing LIDAR signals without additional information about aerosol properties and measurement geometry. Deconvolution results are in good agreement with those performed by Monte Carlo calculations, showing that the significance of multiply scattered photons is strongly correlated with aerosol concentration. It is found that, for ground-based LIDAR, the contribution of multiply scattered photons to LIDAR signals is typically below 5% in a clear urban atmosphere, and up to 14% in a very dirty urban atmosphere in Hong Kong during winter seasons. Received: 8 October 2002 / Revised version: 29 January 2003 / Published online: 22 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-298/51-8229, E-mail: gao@proteo.gr.jp RID="**" ID="**"Present address: Preteomics Lab., Amakubo 1-16-1, Tsukuba 305-0005, Japan     

A four-wavelength depolarization backscattering LIDAR for polar stratospheric cloud monitoring

A four wavelength backscattering depolarization LIDAR designed for polar stratospheric cloud and stratospheric aerosol measurement is described. The system uses the following wavelengths: 355 nm, 532 nm, 750 nm, and 850 nm. These wavelengths, obtained by means of the third- and second-harmonic of a Nd: YAG laser and by means of a tunable Ti: Sapphire laser, are chosen in a way to better characterize the particel size of such stratospheric aerosols. They are not emitted simultaneously as the LIDAR system is designed with only two detection channels permitting to detect, in the analog and in the photon counting mode, both the direct and the depolarized backscattered signal. The system has been operational in northern Finland since the end of November 1991.     

Multiply scattered component of lidar returns

The results of statistical simulation of the spatiotemporal structure of the multiply scattered component of lidar returns by the Monte Carlo method are discussed for the case of monostatic sensing geometry. The spatial characteristics of the region of the medium where occurs the last scattering of photon before arriving at the reciever. This region of the medium is called the instantaneous brightness body of multiply scattered radiation. It is demonstrated that the instantaneous brightness body of multiply scattered radiation that propagates toward the receiver may occupy a large volume that does not necessarily coincide with the region of formation of the singly scattered component. The main factors influencing the spatial and brightness characteristics of this volume source are established. The effect of scattering order on the spatiotemporal structure of lidar returns is analyzed for the case of sensing of aerosol haze and advective and radiative fogs with optical thickness 2<τ<8. Received: 2 August 2001 / Revised version: 7 January 2002 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +7-38/2225-8026, E-mail: belov@iao.ru     

An incoherent Doppler lidar for ground-based atmospheric wind profiling

Received: 17 April 1996/Revised version: 7 October 1996     

Improvements to air mass calculations for ground-based infrared measurements

High-resolution ground-based infrared solar spectra are routinely recorded at the Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) stations. These data sets play a key role in providing a long-term record of atmospheric composition and their links to climate change. The analysis of observed infrared spectra involves comparison to a computer-modeled atmosphere where knowledge of the air mass distribution is an essential component. This note summarises improvements made to an existing and widely used computer code (FSCATM) to perform refractive ray-tracing and calculation of the air mass distribution. Changes were made towards higher vertical resolution in the troposphere and increased numerical precision. The revised FSCATM improves the analysis of infrared spectra mostly through the more accurate representation of the temperature profile. Air mass differences with respect to earlier versions are documented and are typically <0.7%, exceptions being extreme cases of inversion layers. The current version provides ray tracing and air mass calculations for any terrestrial observation site. The output files are reported in a format compatible with the SFIT and SFIT2 retrieval algorithms, which are widely used for NDSC infrared atmospheric studies. The improved computer code, documentation, reference profiles, and test cases are available electronically.     

Denisiuk-type reflection holography display with sillenite crystals for imaging and interferometry of small objects

A novel setup for imaging and interferometry through reflection holography with Bi₁₂TiO₂₀(BTO) sillenite photorefractive crystals is proposed. A variation of the lensless Denisiuk arrangement was developed resulting in a compact, robust and simple interferometer. A red He-Ne laser was used as light source and the holographic recording occurred by diffusion with the grating vector parallel to the crystal [0 0 1]-axis. In order to enhance the holographic image quality and reduce noise a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) was positioned at the BTO input and the crystal was tilted around the [0 0 1]-axis. This enabled the orthogonally polarized transmission and diffracted beams to be separated by the PBS, providing the holographic image only. The possibility of performing deformation and strain analysis as well as vibration measurement of small objects was demonstrated.     

Experimental evaluation of entropy for transmission holographic optical elements

An experimental study of transmission holographic optical elements is presented. Several important aspects related to the diffractional analysis of these elements have been considered. The case of the spherical object wave is analyzed in detail. The emphasis is on obtaining the entropy from the intensity distribution on an image plane. We use the calculated entropy to locate experimentally the position of the best image plane in the sense of minimal aberrations for a holographic lens. The comparison of experimental and theoretical results is presented and good agreement between theory and experimentation has been obtained.Part of this paper was presented at the IS & T/SPIE symposium in Electronic Imaging, Science and Technology (Practical Holography IX) February 4–10, 1995, San José, CA, USA     

Monte-Carlo calculations of keV electron and positron slowing down in solids

A Monte-Carlo simulation technique based on the screened Rutherford differential cross section for the elastic scattering and Gryzinski's semiempirical expression for the inelastic core and valence electron excitation is used to describe electrons and positrons slowing down in solids. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental backscattering, absorption and transmission results for aluminum, silicon, copper, and gold thin film and semi-infinite targets and good agreement is observed. The simulated stopping profiles are fitted with a simple analytic expression. The profiles are Laplace-transformed to give a useful data base for analyzing phenomena associated with slow positron re-emission from solids.     

Monte-Carlo algorithm for line-by-line calculations of thermal radiation in multiple scattering layered atmospheres

An algorithm for calculations of the longwave radiation in cloudy and aerosol slab atmospheres is described. It is based on the line-by-line and Monte-Carlo methods and is suitable for accurate treatment of both the gaseous absorption and the particulate multiple scattering in any spectral regions; other published algorithms as accurate as this can only make calculations in narrow spectral regions. It is recommended that this algorithm is well suited for radiation code validations as well as for theoretical investigations of radiative transfer in clouds and aerosols and satellite signal simulations.     

Quantitative lidar at 532 nm for vertical extinction profiles and the effect of relative humidity

An analysis of 532 nm lidar data is presented for the retrieval of vertical extinction profiles. The strong influence of the relative humidity on the extinction-to-backscatter ratio is parametrized for this purpose. A comparison is made between remotely sensed and locally measured extinction coefficients, using reference values in aircraft and at ground level.     

Orthogonal geometry of wave interaction in a photorefractive crystal for linear phase demodulation

We present a novel configuration of an interferometer which is implemented by using vectorial wave mixing in the orthogonal geometry of wave interaction in a cubic photorefractive crystal, for the detection of small phase transients. The orthogonal geometry of wave interaction allows the linear regime of the phase-to-intensity transformation even when phase transients are encrypted in a depolarized wave without using any polarizing element. The use of a depolarized beam without a polarizing element strongly diminishes the noise level, thus increasing the sensitivity to phase transients.     

Cascade Grating Structure for Increasing the Channel Number on Holographic Demultiplexer

The expansion capability of the channel number in the optical demultiplexer using two cascaded photopolymer volume gratings is reported. It could be accomplished by designing of two gratings with different spectral range. As a result of the experiment, a 0.4-nm-spaced 130-channel demultiplexer with the channel uniformity of 3.5 dB, the 3 riB-bandwidth of 0.12nm, and the channel crosstalk of-20 dB is experimentally demonstrated.     

Current state-of-the-art of LIDAR inversion methods for atmospheres of arbitrary optical density

It is the intention of this paper to report on the currently used methods to solve the different LIDAR signal inversion problems for molecular atmospheres, aerosols and clouds. Apart from more traditional approaches, we shall present a recent one using multiple scattering effects rather than avoiding them, which is useful especially for dense clouds.     

Experimental determination of the multiple-scattering effect on the lidar-signal polarization characteristics during liquid- and solid-phase precipitation

We present results of experimental investigations of the signal-polarization characteristics in the case of lidar sounding during precipitation. We show and discuss the lidar signals and the depolarization profiles along the sounding path for liquid- and solid-phase precipitation. In the former case we compare the signal characteristics at different degrees of precipitation rate. In the latter situation, we consider snowfall with particle shape close to that of Chebyshev particles. We also follow the lidar-signal changes depending on the field-of-view of the receiving optics. The experimental data are compared with results of theoretical estimates and models concerning the optical and microphysical characteristics of the rain and snow particles. In the case of liquid-phase precipitation – rain – the observed dependence of the lidar’s signal-polarization structure on the precipitation intensity has two aspects: on the one hand, the change of the raindrops’ shape, and, on the other, the multiple-scattering effects. The lidar data demonstrate that the signal depolarization, and, more specifically, its behavior along the sounding path, can be used as a criterion for the presence of multiple scattering. In the case of a snowfall consisting of Chebyshev particles, the simultaneous role is evident of two factors influencing the lidar-signal depolarization, namely, the non-spherical shape of the particles and the multiple-scattering effects. When the scattering takes place off particles with a large size and a shape strongly differing from spherical, we observed the predominant role of the non-sphericity of the scattering centers in the signal depolarization. Received: 6 December 2000 / Revised version: 11 July 2001 / Published online: 19 September 2001     

Evaluation of dual differential absorption lidar based on Raman-shifted Nd:YAG or KrF laser for tropospheric ozone measurements

Based on Raman-shifted Nd:YAG or KrF laser, a method of three-wavelength Dual DIfferential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) for tropospheric ozone measurements is proposed. A theoretical analysis and numerical simulations of the measurement error have been performed. The results show that this method can reduce the error in ozone measurements caused by the aerosol layer in the troposphere by a factor of ten. The proposed method is also shown to be insensitive to aerosol optical properties, and therefore, one does not need to know the wavelength dependence of aerosol scattering. The dual-DIAL with 277.1, 291.8, 313.2 nm radiation based on a Raman-shifted KrF laser can be used both during day- and night-time. The dual-DIAL with 289.0, 299.1, 316.1 nm radiation based on Raman-shifted Nd:YAG laser can only be used during night-time.     

Monte-Carlo calculations for neutron yield from photonuclear reactions following bremsstrahlung in tungsten target

The photonuclear reactions of (γ, xn) or (γ, xnp) types can be used to produce high-intensity neutron sources for research and applied purposes. In this work a Monte-Carlo calculation has been used to evaluate the production yields of neutrons from the (γ, n) and (γ, 2n) reactions following the bremsstrahlung produced by 100 and 200 MeV electron beams on the tungsten target. Our calculations indicated that the neutron yield is an increasing function of the target thickness in a considered range from 1.5 to 2.5 mm.     

Anomalous Behaviour of Photorefractive Grating Erasure Owing to Existence of both Negative and Positive Carriers

In LiNbO3：Fe, anomalous behaviour of grating erasure is observed with different wavelengths, i.e. rapid grating erasure in the short wavelength range, which deviates from the results predicted by the electron transport band model. The deviation is related to the coexistence of electrons and holes in photorefraction, and charge-transfer process including electrons and hole has been proposed. The electron and hole contributions to photoconductivity have been identified by experiments. We also give the theoretical dependence of electron photo-excitation coefficient S of the Fe centre on the wavelength.     

Design of High-Efficiency Diffraction Gratings Based on Rigorous Coupled-Wave Analysis for 800nm Wavelength

We report on the design of a high diffraction efficiency multi-layer dielectric grating with wide incident angle and broad bandwidth for 80Ohm. The optimized grating can achieve 〉 95% diffraction efficiency in the first order at an incident angle of 5° from Littrow and a wavelength from 77Ohm to 83Ohm, with peak diffraction efieieney of 〉 99.5% at 80Ohm. The electric field distribution of the optimized multi-layer dielectric grating within the gratings ridge is 1.3 times enhancement of the incidence light, which presents potential high laser resistance ability. Because of its high-effieieney, wide incident, broad bandwidth and potential high resistance ability, the multi-layer dielectric grating should have practical application in Ti：sapphire laser systems.     

A method for the evaluation of the grating envelope in volume holographic media

A novel method for measuring the three-dimensional spatial distribution of gratings in a volume holographic medium is described. In this method, the diffraction of a uniform probe light wave is measured as a function of the deviation (either in angle or wavelength) from the Bragg condition. The envelope function of the grating is obtained by solving the coupled wave equations inversely. Not only the amplitude but also the phase of the envelope function is obtained. This method allows for the depletion of the probe light wave in the hologram and is applicable to both dielectric (refractive index) and absorption gratings. The resolution and the maximum measurable depth in this method are discussed.