Augmenting classical DIAL with Raman-DIAL (RaDIAL)

摘要

Abstract: A novel method of performing DIAL (Differential Absorption Lidar) measurements of airborne chemicals is presented. The technique, called RaDIAL, utilizes the Raman returns from atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen as the `on' and `off' wavelengths for a particular chemical species. Both laboratory and field tests of RaDIAL for molecules with absorption bands in the UV solar blind demonstrate the utility of this detection scheme. The advantages of RaDIAL for range-resolved chemical species detection/monitoring include insensitivity of the measurement to laser pulse-to- pulse energy fluctuations and variations in aerosol burden. The RaDIAL technique offers the desired high sensitivity associated with DIAL while keeping the data reduction simple and free of complex approximations.!18