Multiple-return laser radar for three-dimensional imaging through obscurations

A compact imaging laser radar was constructed and tested to investigate phenomenological issues in targeting, especially cases involving imaging through obscurations such as foliage and camouflage netting. The laser radar employs a Nd:YAG microchip laser that operates at a wavelength of 1.06 mum and produces pulses of 1.2-ns duration at a 3-kHz rate. The detector is a commercial indium gallium arsenide avalanche photodiode. A single computer controls the scanning mirrors and performs the digitization of the returning signal at 2 giga samples/s. A detailed description of the laser radar is presented as well as results from field experiments that examined its range accuracy capability and its ability to image a target through camouflage. Results of data collected from deciduous tree lines are also discussed to characterize the presence and quantity of multiple returns. (C) 2002 Optical Society of America.