Title :
A comparison of free space and fiber mixer performances in a heterodyne laser radar
Author_Institution :
Wright Lab., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, USA
Abstract :
The author compares the signal-to-noise ratio at the IF stage of a heterodyne laser radar receiver using the traditional free space mixer with the IF CNR from a heterodyne laser radar receiver using a fiber mixer stage. The comparison indicates the fiber mixer will generally under-perform the free space mixer unless the f-numbers of the receiver optics and the single-mode fiber are approximate matches. In this case, the fiber mixer performs as well as the free space-mixer and can even out-perform it for some optics designs
Keywords :
optical fibres; optical radar; optical receivers; radar receivers; IF stage; f-numbers; fiber mixer; free space mixer; heterodyne laser radar; heterodyne laser radar receiver; numerical analysis; performance comparison; signal-to-noise ratio; single-mode fiber; Apertures; Fiber lasers; Frequency; Laser radar; Optical mixing; Optical transmitters; Radar detection; Reflectivity; Shape; Spaceborne radar;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace and Electronics Conference, 1992. NAECON 1992., Proceedings of the IEEE 1992 National
Conference_Location :
Dayton, OH
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-0652-X
DOI :
10.1109/NAECON.1992.220577
