Fast-switching methane lidar transmitter based on a seeded optical parametric oscillator

We report on our development effort for a trace-gas-sensing lidar transmitter to be used in future Earth-orbiting satellites. Our lidar transmitter is based on an optical parametric oscillator (OPO), whose output wavelength is switched at a rate of 5 kHz across the target line. The OPO cavity length and the seed laser wavelengths are stabilized to molecular and atomic references. We demonstrated the concept of the OPO-based lidar transmitter at 1,651 nm, achieving ∼300-μJ output energy and <300-MHz linewidth, which are anticipated to be required for a future methane lidar spaceborne mission.

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