The paper describes practical application of pulsed microchip laser generating at 1535-nm wavelength to a laser rangefinder. The complete prototype of a laser rangefinder was built and investigated in real environmental conditions. The measured performance of the device is discussed. To build the prototype of a laser rangefinder at a reasonable price and shape a number of basic considerations had to be done. These include the mechanical and optical design of a microchip laser and the opto-mechanical construction of the rangefinder.

The article presents methods of long range distance measurements using pulsed lasers and the Time of Flight principle. Various algorithms of laser distance measurements with digital acquisition of echo pulses (acquisition of a signal’s full waveform) are presented. The main focus of work is concentrated on the method of distance measurements developed by the authors. With this method, during laboratory trials, a total measurement error of one centimeter was achieved using a 905 nm pulsed laser diode and pulse width of 39 ns. The maximum range of measurements with such high precision is limited only by a signal to noise ratio, duration of measurements and atmospheric conditions. All algorithms were implemented in a laser rangefinder module developed by the authors. Simulations and laboratory experiments were conducted and algorithm’s accuracy and precision were tested for various SNR conditions and changing distances.

We report methodology of three-dimensional laser beam shaping. The analytical and numerical analysis is presented. A strategy for designing optical system involves the controlled application of aberrations which is realized by specific aspheric lens shaping. The goal is to obtain the desired optical power density distribution in space, which is optimal for selected application. The proposed method is discussed with regard to the design of optical transmitter for laser shooting simulator, however the developed methodology can be used for a number of other light shaping applications

LIDAR system for real-time standoff detection of bio-agents is presented and preliminary experimental results are discussed. The detection approach is based on two independent physical phenomena: (1) laser induced fluorescence (LIF), (2) depolarization resulting from elastic scattering on non-spherical particles. The device includes three laser sources, two receiving telescopes, depolarization component and spectral signature analyzing spectrograph. It was designed to provide the stand-off detection capability at ranges from 200 m up to several kilometers. The system as a whole forms a mobile platform for vehicle or building installation. Additionally, it's combined with a scanning mechanics and advanced software, which enable to conduct the semi-automatic monitoring of a specified space sector. For fluorescence excitation, 3-rd (355 nm) and 4-th (266 nm) harmonics of Nd:YAG pulsed lasers are used. They emit short (~6 ns) pulses with the repetition rate of 20 Hz. Collecting optics for fluorescence echo detection and spectral content analysis includes 25 mm diameter f/4 Newton telescope, Czerny Turner spectrograph and 32-channel PMT. Depending on the grating applied, the spectral resolution from 20 nm up to 3 nm per channel can be achieved. The system is also equipped with an eye-safe (1.5 μm) Nd:YAG OPO laser for elastic backscattering/depolarization detection. The optical echo signal is collected by Cassegrain telescope with aperture diameter of 12.5 mm. Depolarization detection component based on polarizing beam-splitter serves as the stand-off particle-shape analyzer, which is very valuable in case of non-spherical bio-aerosols sensing.