Abstract
A general expression for the signal-to-noise ratio of a heterodyne lidar system in the presence of atmospheric turbulence is derived which is valid both in the near- and far-field of the laser and remoted scattering source. We consider the situation where a laser transmitter directs an optical beam at some remote scattering region of interest. The backscattered light is collected by a receiving aperture and mixed with a suitable coherent local oscillator reference field. Both coaxial and bistatic lidar systems are considered. In both cases we are able to obtain algebraic expressions for the signal-to-noise ratio which are valid for an arbitrary propagation path through the atmosphere. Numerical results are presented for both a 3.7 and 10.6 micrometer lidar system. Additionally, we obtain the conditions under which atmospheric turbulence will limit severely the performance of heterodyne lidar systems.
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