Open AccessField-widened Michelson interferometer for spectral discrimination in high-spectral-resolution lidar: theoretical framework
Author(s) -
Zhiyun Cheng,
Dong Liu,
Jing Luo,
Yongying Yang,
Yudi Zhou,
Yupeng Zhang,
Lulin Duan,
Lin Su,
Liming Yang,
Yibing Shen,
Kaiwei Wang,
Jian Bai
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.23.012117
Subject(s) - michelson interferometer , lidar , interferometry , computer science , spectral resolution , remote sensing , discriminator , field (mathematics) , calibration , optics , realization (probability) , filter (signal processing) , electronic engineering , physics , engineering , spectral line , detector , statistics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , astronomy , pure mathematics , geology , computer vision
A field-widened Michelson interferometer (FWMI) is developed to act as the spectral discriminator in high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL). This realization is motivated by the wide-angle Michelson interferometer (WAMI) which has been used broadly in the atmospheric wind and temperature detection. This paper describes an independent theoretical framework about the application of the FWMI in HSRL for the first time. In the framework, the operation principles and application requirements of the FWMI are discussed in comparison with that of the WAMI. Theoretical foundations for designing this type of interferometer are introduced based on these comparisons. Moreover, a general performance estimation model for the FWMI is established, which can provide common guidelines for the performance budget and evaluation of the FWMI in the both design and operation stages. Examples incorporating many practical imperfections or conditions that may degrade the performance of the FWMI are given to illustrate the implementation of the modeling. This theoretical framework presents a complete and powerful tool for solving most of theoretical or engineering problems encountered in the FWMI application, including the designing, parameter calibration, prior performance budget, posterior performance estimation, and so on. It will be a valuable contribution to the lidar community to develop a new generation of HSRLs based on the FWMI spectroscopic filter.