Imaging and Target Detection with a Heterodyne-Reception Optical Radar.
Abstract
A theoretical study of the use of a heterodyne reception CO2 laser radar for imaging and target detection is reported. Specifically, a mathematical system model for the radar is developed, incorporating the statistical effects of propagation through atmospheric turbulence, target speckle and glint, and heterodyne-reception shot noise. This model is used to find the image signal-to-noise ratio of a matched-filter envelope detector receiver and the target-detection probability of the optimum likelihood-ratio processor. For realistic parameter values it is shown that turbulence-induced beam spreading and coherence loss may be neglected. Target speckle and atmospheric scintillation, however, present serious limitations on single-frame imaging and target detection performance. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 13, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA063767
Entities
People
- Jeffrey H Shapiro
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology