Abstract

We experimentally demonstrate the detection of laser light, which has been scattered from micron-scale atmospheric particulates, using a balanced heterodyne detection system with a non-cooperative tunable laser as a local oscillator source. The signal generated by the coherent detection receiver is provided to a signal processing algorithm designed to discriminate scattered laser light entering the receiver from the incoherent background and internal receiver noise. A receiver operating characteristic quantifies the performance of the receiver and demonstrates that optical coherence can be used as a parameter for laser detection even after the process of optical scattering from a disordered media.

Date

2023

Authors

Helena Belzer, Andrew Rittenbach, Jonathan L Habif

Journal

Optics Continuum

Volume

2

Issue

4

Pages

751-757

Publisher

Optica Publishing Group