About the effects of polarising optics on lidar signals and the Δ90 calibration

摘要

This paper provides a model for assessing the effects of polarising optics on the signals of typical lidarsystems, which is based on the description of the individual optical elements of the lidar and of the state of polarisationof the light by means of the Müller–Stokes formalism. General analytical equations are derived for the dependence ofthe lidar signals on polarisation parameters, for the linear depolarisation ratio, and for the signals of differentpolarisation calibration setups. The equations can also be used for the calculation of systematic errors caused by nonidealoptical elements, their rotational misalignment, and by non-ideal laser polarisation. We present the description ofthe lidar signals including the polarisation calibration in a closed form, which can be applied for a large variety of lidarsystems.