RADIOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND SIMULATION OF SIGNAL POWER FUNCTION IN A SHORT-RANGE LASER-RADAR

A key issue in designing laser radar devices for short-range applicati ons is the ability to estimate accurately the power seen by the receiv er as a function of the measurement distance. To obtain a reasonable a pproximation of this power, the irradiance distribution over the senso r as well as the target surface, which is highly dependent on the type of the detector used, must be analyzed in detail. The calculation of signal power function by means of radiometry is discussed. A software package developed for simulating power transfer as a function of vario us optical parameters is presented. It can be applied to various types of laser sources, including high-power laser diodes (wide-stripe or s tacked) and pigtailed laser diodes.