Abstract
The extreme sensitivity of laser diodes to minute amounts of optical feedback has long been considered a nuisance, but this same attribute, if properly controlled, makes laser diodes ideal for remote sensing. Here we describe the construction and evaluation of compact and sensitive diode laser-based velocimeter/anemometer systems·which are self-referencing (i.e., need no phase or frequency adjustment) and which require only simple optical alignment, in contrast to the more usual interferometric laser sensors. In each case, a low-power (~1 mW) laser beam was collimated and directed onto a moving and diffusely reflecting target (white bond paper), from which the Doppler-shifted optical backscatter was coupled back into the lasing mode, causing an easily detected intensity modulation at the Doppler frequency shift.
© 1992 Optical Society of America
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