Useful receiver telescope diameter of ground-based and airborne 1-, 2-, and 10-micron coherent lidars in the presence of atmospheric refractive turbulence

Calculations of the integrated effect of atmospheric refractive turbulence on 1-, 2-, and 10-micron coherent lidar performance are presented for a series of different lidar propagation geometries. The effective lidar receiver telescope diameter is evaluated for each case. The results indicate that atmospheric turbulence should not be a significant factor in the performance of a downward-looking high-altitude or satellite-borne coherent lidar system. It is also shown that ground-based 1-2-micron coherent lidars may be limited in their useful telescope aperture, especially for horizontal or nearly horizontal path measurements near the ground.