The use of Raman and high-spectral lidars enables measurements of a stratospheric aerosol extinction profile independent of backscatter, and a multi-wavelength (MW) lidar can obtain additional information that can aid in retrieving the microphysical characteristics of the sampled aerosol. The inversion method for retrieving aerosol particle size distributions and microphysical particle parameters from MW lidar data was studied. An inversion algorithm for retrieving aerosol particle size distributions based on the regularization method was established. Based on the inversion of regularization, the inversion method was optimized by choosing the base function closest to the aerosol distribution. The logarithmic normal distribution function was selected over the triangle function as the base function for the inversion. The averaging procedure was carried out for three main types of aerosol. The 1% averaging result near the minimum of the discrepancy gave the best estimate of the particle parameters. The accuracy and stabilization of the optimized algorithm for microphysical parameters were tested by scores of aerosol size distributions. The systematic effects and random errors impacting the inversion were also considered, and the algorithm was tested by the data, showing 10% systematic error and 15% random error. At the same time, the reliability of the proposed algorithm was also verified by using the aerosol particle size distribution data of the aircraft. The inversion results showed that the algorithm was reliable in retrieving the aerosol particle size distributions at vertical heights using lidar data.

Underwater LED light sources are commonly implemented in array configurations with a wide-angle field of view, primarily catering to high-speed communication within a few meters. To increase transmission distance and mitigate oceanic turbulence effects, this paper focuses on the spatial coherence analysis of narrow-beam partially coherent light-emitting diode (PCLED) arrays, examining their average light intensity distribution, beam width, and spatial coherence during oceanic transmission. Based on the extended Huygens–Fresnel integral, the optical field models and spatial characteristics of the radial PCLED array are derived under oceanic conditions, considering parameters such as water attenuation coefficient, kinetic energy dissipation rate, temperature dissipation rate, temperature-to-salinity ratio, as well as the radial filling factor and the sub-beam spatial coherence length of the light source at different transmission distances. The simulations show that, as the spatial coherence length of the sub-beam decreases from hundreds to a few micrometers, the combining distance of the beam arrays also decreases. This reduction in coherence results in the average light intensity distribution degrading into a Gaussian-like distribution, with a significant five-fold decrease in peak intensity. Furthermore, the width of the array spreads, starting from distances of 7 m and 0 m, respectively. The radial PCLED beam array, with its sub-beam spatial coherence length inside micrometers, possesses inherent characteristics that suppress turbulence effects and has future extensive possibilities in the ocean.