Waveform calibration strategies for a small-footprint laser scanner

Waveform calibration is a crucial task in the processing of full-waveform laser scanner data. In most cases, there is a non-linear relationship between the "raw" waveform data stored by the sensor system and the actual input power. However, to establish standardized methods for the post processing of waveform data, input data related linearly to the power input are required. For some commercially available systems, this problem is handled by using a look-up table (LUT) as a transfer function from the "raw" amplitude (stored by the sensor system) of the peaks of the waveforms to their actual amplitude. Since the transformation is only valid for the peaks of the waveform, the question arises how this transformation would perturbate the shape (i.e. position, width and amplitude) of a backscattered laser pulse if applied to the whole waveform. This paper discusses the effects of the use of such non-linear transfer functions on complex laser scanner waveforms.