CELiS (Compact Eyesafe Lidar System), a portable 1.5 μm elastic lidar system for rapid aerosol concentration measurement: Part 1, Instrument Design and Operation

Abstract:

CELiS (Compact Eyesafe Lidar System) is an elastic lidar system conceived for the purpose of monitoring air quality environmental compliance regarding particulate matter (PM) generated from off-road use of wheeled and tracked vehicles. CELiS is a prototype instrument development by the Space Dynamics Laboratory to demonstrate a small, low power, eye-safe lidar system capable of monitoring PM fence-line concentration of fugitive dust from off-road vehicle activity as part of the SERDP (Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program) Measurement and Modeling of Fugitive Dust Emission from Off-Road Department of Defense Activities program.

CELiS is small, lightweight and easily transportable for quick setup and measurement of PM concentration and emissions. The instrument is mounted on Moog Quickset pan and tilt positioner. Ground support equipment includes portable racks with laser power and cooler, power supplies, readout electronics and computer. The complete CELiS instrument weighs less than 300 lbs., is less than 1 cubic meters in volume and uses 700 W of 120V AC power. CELiS has a working range of better than 6km and a range resolution of 1.5m-6m.

CELiS operates in a biaxial configuration at the 1.5μm eyesafe wavelength. The receiver is an off-axis parabolic (OAP) telescope, aft-optics and alignment assembly and InGaAs APD detector readout. The transmitter is a 20Hz PRF - 25mJ Quantel 1.574 μm laser with a 20x beam expander. Both the receiver and transmitter are mounted on a carbon fiber optical breadboard with a custom mounting solution to minimize misalignment due to thermal operating range (0-40 C) and pointing vectors.

Any lidar system used to monitor fence-line PM emissions related to off-road training activities will be subject to a strict eye-safety requirement to protect both troops and wildlife. CELiS is eyesafe at the output aperture.

CELiS has participated in two Dugway Proving Ground Lidar exercises performing within expectations. Retrieval of particulate matter concentration is presented in companion poster by K. Moore.