Parameter Simulation and Design of an Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging LiDAR System

Abstract

With continuous technological development, the future development trend of LiDAR in the field of remote sensing and mapping is to obtain the elevation and spectral information of ground targets simultaneously. Airborne hyperspectral imaging LiDAR inherits the advantages of active and passive remote sensing detection. This paper presents a simulation method to determine the design parameters of an airborne hyperspectral imaging LiDAR system. In accordance with the hyperspectral imaging LiDAR equation and optical design principles, the atmospheric transmission model and the reflectance spectrum of specific ground targets are utilized. The design parameters and laser emission spectrum of the hyperspectral LiDAR system are considered, and the signal-to-noise ratio of the system is obtained through simulation. Without considering the effect of detector gain and electronic amplification on the signal-to-noise ratio, three optical fibers are coupled into a detection channel, and the power spectral density emitted by the supercontinuum laser is simulated by assuming that the signal-to-noise ratio is equal to 1. The power spectral density emitted by the laser must not be less than 15 mW/nm in the shortwave direction. During the simulation process, the design parameters of the hyperspectral LiDAR system are preliminarily demonstrated, and the feasibility of the hyperspectral imaging LiDAR system design is theoretically guaranteed in combination with the design requirements of the supercontinuum laser. The spectral resolution of a single optical fiber of the hyperspectral LiDAR system is set to 2.5 nm. In the actual prototype system, multiple optical fibers can be coupled into a detection channel in accordance with application needs to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio of hyperspectral LiDAR system detection.