An Enhanced Multi-wavelength Ultraviolet Biological Trigger Lidar

摘要

A compact Ultraviolet Biological Trigger Lidar (UBTL) instrument for detection and discrimination of bio-warfare-agent (BWA) simulant aerosol clouds was developed by us [Prasad, et al, 2004] using a 5mW, 375nm semiconductor UV optical source (SUVOS) laser diode. It underwent successful field tests at Dugway Proving Ground and demonstrated measurement ranges of over 300m for elastic scattering and >100m for fluorescence. The UBTL was modified during mid-2004 to enhance its detection and discrimination performance with increased range of operation and sensitivity. The major optical modifications were: 1. increase in telescope collection aperture to 200 mm diameter: 2. addition of 266nm and 977nm laser transmitters: 3. addition of three detection channels for 266nm and 977nm elastic backscatter and fluorescence centered at 330nm. Also the commercial electronics of the original UBTL were replaced with a multi-channel field programmable gate array (FPGA) chip for laser diode modulation and data acquisition that allowed simultaneous and continuous operation of the UBTL sensor on all of its transmitter and receiver wavelengths. A notebook computer was added for data display and storage. Field tests were performed during July 2004 at the Edgewood Chemical and Biological Center in Maryland to establish the enhanced performance of UBTL subsystems. Results of these tests are presented and discussed.