Distance and Velocity Measurement of Coherent Lidar Based on Chirp Pulse Compression

Abstract

To explore lidar, which can simultaneously measure the distance and velocity of long-distance targets at high resolution, a coherent lidar system based on chirp pulse compression has been studied. Instead of a conventional acousto-optic modulator (AOM), we used an electro-optic modulator (EOM) to modulate a continuous 1550 nm laser. Using EOM, the resolution of the lidar is higher and the system simpler. The electrical waveform used to modulate the laser is a chirp pulse, which has a sweeping bandwidth of 98 MHz, a duration of 10 µs, and a pulse repetition rate of 20 kHz. The result of 100 measurements shows that the system may yield accurate information in range, ±22 cm, and radial velocity, ±1.066 cm/s.