Applications of excimer lasers for remote sensing

Abstract

Active and in‐situ laser measurements of atmospheric gases, biologic species, physical parameters of atmospheres and oceans, and geologic minerals is a relatively new technique and its utilization is constrained by the state of laser development and by the limited base of supporting spectral data for many of the parameters being measured. The ability to do laser radar (lidar) in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum has been greatly enhanced with the emergence of rare gas halide excimer lasers. Excimer lasers are compact, efficient, high energy sources of tunable narrow spectral bandwidth ultraviolet radiation and with the concurrent development of efficient wavelength conversion methods, excimer laser‐based lidar systems are graining increased utilization for a variety of remote and in‐situ measurements.