Lidar

Techniques for Geoscience Applica5ons:

Polariza5on Lidar for Aqua5c Research (POLAR)
Prof. Je Thayer
Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department
Director, Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research

Lidar PhD Graduates: Katelynn Greer (2013), Steve Mitchell (2013), Ryan Neely (2012),
MaQ Hayman (2011)

Lidar Masters Graduates: Michael Rhodes (2012), Andrew Gisler (2015)

Lidar PhD Candidates: Katrina Bossert, Robert S5llwell, Rory Barton-Grimley

Lidar Systems and Students

Lidar Remote Sensing

BackscaQer Lidar System

Laser pulse transmiQed

Light propaga5on to target

Interac5on with target

Molecular
Rayleigh signal

ScaQered light propaga5on back to receiver

ScaQered light collected by receiver

Photons recorded as electrical signals

Range and range resolu5on given by 5me of ight

and 5me resolu5on

ct
c
, r =
2
2
Signal intensity described by the Lidar equa5on
r=

N ( r , , , , L ) = NTx ( L )

Aerosol Mie signal

A
2
G ( r ) ( , L ) T ( r , , L ) ( rp , , , , L ) r + N B
2
r

Volume backscaQer coecient

( rp , , , , L ) = ni ( rp )
i

[m-1 sr-1]

i ( , , , L )

Connects signals to physical proper5es of the

scaQering medium

Arc5c Lidar Technology (ARCLITE)

A Rayleigh / Mie / Raman / Polariza5on / Resonance Lidar System

Kangerlussuaq, Greenland
67.0 N, 309.1 E

ARCLITE: Water Vapor Retrieval

Raman ScaQering of H20:

Water vapor mixing ra5o
prole comparison
between a balloon
ight and 30 minute
integra5on of lidar
signal.
The lidar has been
integrated spa5ally to
250m to match the
balloon data.
Subplot is the
corresponding signal
percent error of the
lidar prole.
Neely, R. R. and J. P. Thayer (2011), Raman Proling of Tropospheric
Water Vapor over Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, Journal of Atmospheric
and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 28, pp. 1141-1148.

ARCLITE: Water Vapor Retrieval

Neely, R. R. and J. P. Thayer (2011), Raman Proling of Tropospheric

Water Vapor over Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, Journal of Atmospheric
and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 28, pp. 1141-1148.

ARCLITE : Rayleigh / Mie Signals

Polar Mesospheric Cloud Research

PMC

Thayer, J. P., M. Rapp, A. J. Gerrard, E. Gudmundsson, and T. J. Kane (2003), Gravity-

wave inuences on Arc5c mesospheric clouds as determined by a Rayleigh lidar at
Sondrestrom, Greenland, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D8), 8449, doi:10.1029/2002JD002363

ARCLITE: Polariza5on Lidar

Cloud Detection and Composition:
Depolarization Measurements

Polar Stratospheric Cloud

Hayman, M. and J. P. Thayer, Explicit descrip5on of polariza5on

coupling in Lidar applica5ons, Op5cs LeQers, Vol. 34, 5, 2009.

Polariza5on upon ScaQering

Light reec5ons o a car windshield
Ver5cal Polariza5on

Horizontal Polariza5on

Polariza5on Lidar: Depolariza5on

Depolarizing ScaQerer: Randomly oriented,
nonspherical, axially symmetric scaQerers

Measured intensity:

r
r
N = OS Rx

N1
r
N = N 2
:
P1
O = o P2
:

0
1
0 1 d
F ( ) =
0
0

0
0

0
0
d 1
0

0
0
0

2d 1

Linear Depolariza5on Es5mate

Where P are 4x4 Mueller matrices

describing the polariza5on aQributes of
each channel
Where o is a projec5on matrix accoun5ng
for detector eciencies

r N
N =
NP

f11 f 22 N
=
=
f11 + f 22 NP

2N
f 22 = d =
N + NP

d = 0, polarizing
d = 1, depolarizing

M. Hayman, J. P. Thayer. General descrip5on of polariza5on in lidar using stokes

vectors and polar decomposi5on of mueller matrices. J. Opt. Soc. Am. A. (2012)

ARCLITE: Polariza5on Lidar

Depolariza5on Measurements of PSC, Cirrus and Stratus

Polar Stratospheric
Cloud
Cloud Detection and Composition:
Depolarization Measurements

f11 f 22 N
=
=
f11 + f 22 NP
Cirrus
Stratus

CAPABL: Cloud Aerosol Polariza5on BackscaQer Lidar

Neely, Ryan R., Ma9hew Hayman, Robert S>llwell, Jerey P.
Thayer, R. Michael Hardesty, Michael O'Neill, MaQhew D.
Shupe, Catherine Alvarez, (2013): Polariza5on Lidar at Summit,
Greenland, for the Detec5on of Cloud Phase and Par5cle
Orienta5on. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 30, 16351655

Summit Camp, Greenland

72.5 N, 38.5 E

CAPABL: Cloud Aerosol Polariza5on BackscaQer Lidar

Low al>tude super-cooled liquid water

Ice Cloud and Precipita>on

Liquid water cloud

14

Glacial Melt Ponds Shallow Water

NASA Earth & Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Award
and CU Internal Award
To determine the depth of shallow
water by remote sensing.
TARGET DEPTH GOAL < 1m

Bathymetric Lidar
refl
air
,h 2o
refl
air , h 2 o

! !
ki , k s , R

Ft arg et

Th 2o

!
ki , s , R

htrans
2 o , air

refl
h 2 o , floor

! !
ki , k s , R

)
16

Polariza5on upon ScaQering

Light reec5ons in shallow water
Horizontal
Polariza5on

Ver5cal Polariza5on

Polariza5on Lidar

Height

Intrapulse Phase Modica>on Induced by Sca9ering

(INPHAMIS)

Time

Shallow Water and Subsurface Mapping

Laboratory demonstration of a
green laser system scanned
horizontally across a water-andsand filled aquarium into which
two rocks are placed. This data
highlight the seamless land-towater transition, the 1 cm depth
resolution, and the high precision
subsurface mapping clearly
identifying the two rocks.

Bathymetric Lidar Development

20

Polariza5on Lidar for Aqua5c Research (POLAR)

POLAR

Laser
Vendor: Teem Photonics
Power: 35 mW
Pulse energy: 2.45 mJ
Repe55on rate: 14.3 kHz
Beam divergence: 8.9 mrad
FWHM pulse width: 450 psec
A'ributes upon transmission
Linearly polarized
Degree of polariza5on > 99.99%
Beam divergence: 1.8 mrad
Telescope
Vendor: Orion
Maksutov-Cassegrain
Aperture: 90 mm
Eec5ve focal length: 1250 mm
F#: 13.9
Photomul6plier Tubes
Vendor: Hamamatsu H7422PA-40
FWHM pulse width: 2.5 nsec
Data acquisi6on
Vendor: SensL CFD, HRMTime
CFD output pulse width: 8 nsec
HRMTime bin width: 27 psec
HRMTime dead 5me: 190 nsec
Power: 64 W. Dimensions: 12" x 24" x 10". Weight: 42 lbs (19 kg).

Projected Laser Spot on Ground

Laser

At 2500 feet and a laser beam divergence

(full-angle, eld-of-view) of 2.0 mrad,
what is the spot size on the ground?

Using the small angle approxima5on,
==5 (~1.5)

Ground Distance Traveled per Laser

Shot
Laser

An aircraw is ying at a constant speed of

410 w/s (125 m/s) at an al5tude of 2500
feet with a nadir-poin5ng lidar, as
described on the previous slide, and a
laser opera5ng at a pulse repe55on
frequency of 14.3kHz. What is the
ground distance traveled between laser
shots?

=/=0.03/

Running Average
3 Shots

2.5w

2.5w

Integra5ng 58 laser shots results in a running average

over 1.66 w (0.5 m)

Lidar Remote Sensing for Forestry

Outcome of POLAR:
Point cloud eld

Strength:
Ver5cal forest structure
Foliage characteriza5on
Shallow water bathymetry

Weakness:
Fixed poin5ng
AQenuated by fog/clouds
Early-phase data processing

SARP Lidar Projects

Polariza5on characteriza5on of forest, foliage,
and land
Laser spot geoloca5on in conjunc5on with
MASTER/DMS data
Shallow water depth determina5on and
subsurface mapping
Instrument characteriza5on and sta5s5cal
signal analysis

Polarimetry: Stokes Vector

Poincare sphere with normalized Stokes vector

1
S0

S
p cos 2 cos 2
1

S=
= I 0
S 2
p cos 2 sin 2

p sin 2

S3

The orienta5on of the

Stokes vector is given
by rota5on () and
ellip5city angles ()

Linear polariza5on on
equator
Circular at poles

P=

Stokes vector length is

the degree of
polariza5on (p)
I pol
I0

S12 + S 22 + S32
S0

, 0 P 1

Mueller Matrix Polarimetry

A Mueller matrix polarimeter has a polariza5on state generator
(PSG) and a polariza5on state analyzer (PSA), such that, for a single
detector:

I 0
a11
g
g
= AMg =
g
g

g

g

a12
g

a13
g

g
g

g
g

a14 m11
g m21
g m31

g m41

m12
m22
m32

m13
m23
m33

m42

m43

m14 g 0
m24 g1
m34 g 2

m44 g3

I 0 = a11 ( m11 g 0 + m12 g1 + m13 g 2 + m14 g3 ) + a12 ( m21 g 0 + m22 g1 + m23 g 2 + m24 g 3 ) +
a13 ( m31 g 0 + m32 g1 + m33 g 2 + m34 g3 ) + a14 ( m41 g 0 + m42 g1 + m43 g 2 + m44 g 3 )

Polariza5on Lidar

Stokes Vector Lidar Equa5on

r
r r
r
r
r
r

A
S RX = M RX G ( r ) 2 r Tatm k s , r F ki , k s , r Tatm ki , r M TX STX + S B
r

!
S RX
!
S TX

) ( )

= received Stokes vector

= Stokes vector describing the laser transmitted polarization state

M TX

!
Tatm ki , s , R
! !
F ki , ks , R

) (

= Mueller matrix description of the transmitter

)
)

= Mueller matrix description of atmospheric transmission

= scattering phase matrix of the scattering matrix at range, r

M RX = Mueller matrix description of the receiver

!
SB

= Stokes vector of the background at the input of the receiver

Hayman, M. and J. P. Thayer, (2012), General descrip5on of
polariza5on in lidar using Stokes vectors and polar decomposi5on of
Mueller matrices, J. Opt. Soc. Am., 29, 400-409

29

Forward Polar Decomposi5on

Mueller Matrix Decomposed into 3 cons5tuent matrices

Retarder
Phase shiw

Depolarizer
Reduces DOP

1
0
M R =
0

0
1
0

0
0
cos

0 sin

0
0
sin

cos

ps2 + p 2p
2
2
1 ps p p
MD =
2 0

1
0
M =
0
DiaQenuator

Weak polarizer
0
ps2 p 2p
0
0

2
2
ps + p p
0
0
0
2 ps p p
0

0
0
2 ps p p

0 0 0
a 0 0
0 b 0

0 0 c

Lu, S. Y. and Chipman, R. A., Interpreta5on of Mueller matrices based

on polar decomposi5on J. Opt. Soc. Am. A, 13, 1106-1113 (1996).

INPHAMIS: Shallow Water Bathymetric Lidar

Strengths
Enhanced Range Resolu5on

Precise Measurement
No Contact with Media
Distance Sampling
Low Cost Solu5on
Accurate and Self Calibra5ng

Capability
Shallow Water Depth
Measurement
Water Floor Topography
Mapping
Semitransparent Media
Thickness Measurement
Surface roughness
Characteriza5on

Scalable
Dieren5al Measurement not
requiring knowledge of playorm
posi5on

31

INPHAMIS: Depth Verica5on

d

d = ct

3 cm

1 cm

t =
t =

3-cm Water Depth

t=247 psec water
d= 2.7 (0.3)cm

ice

0.4

0.6

(3x10

= 44 p sec

1-cm Water Depth

0.2

0
1.28

1.3

1.32
Seconds

1.34

1.36

1.38
-8

x 10

t=52 psec
d= 0.6 (0.3)cm

0.4

0.2

1.26

2 ( 0.02 )

0.8

Normalized Counts

Normalized Counts

0.8

0.6

(3x10

8
8
March 11, 2010 water depths 450V static wave plate
AO paper...1cm deep water

March 11, 2010 water depths 450V static wave plate

AO paper...3cm deep water
1

2nl 2l

c
c
2 (1.33)( 0.02 )

2n

1.26

1.28

1.3

1.32
Seconds

1.34

1.36

1.38
-8

x 10

Conven5onal Measurement of the ScaQering

Matrix =2/
()
Linear:

Circular:

=/
+

Arbitrary:

=4/(+)(3c4)

No matter what polarization is used, the matrix can be characterized

Transmitted and received polarization planes must be known

April 27, 2011

35

Conven5onal Polariza5on Lidar Terminology

Polarization Ratio

Conventionally polarization data is reported as

the ratio of the parallel and perpendicular
channels
/=
/

The data product is dependent on the system's

polarization mode of operation
Linear
=/
2

Circular
=/
1

Arbitrary

=(3c4)/
4(3c4)

April 13, 2011

36

Conven5onal Measurement of the ScaQering

Matrix
()
[1@1@0@0]=[1&0&0&0@0&1
&0&0@0&0&1&0@0&0&0&21]
[1@1@0@0]

=
[1&1&0&0@1&1&0&0@0&0&0&0@
0&0&0&0][1@1@0@0]=1/2

=[1&1&0&0@
1&1&0&0@0&0&0&0@0&0&0&0]
[1@1@0@0]=/2

April 27, 2011

37

BackscaQer Phase Matrix

(Orientation
,,)=[11&12&0&0@12&22
Fixed
&0&0@0&0&33&34@0&0&34&44]

Random
(,Orientation
,)=[1&0&0&0@0&1&0&0@0&0&
1&0@0&0&0&21]

April 27, 2011

38

Instrumenta>on & Results

Prototype Polariza>on Lidar
Experiments external to laboratory
Designed to minimize systema5c eects
No reec5ve surfaces

Mi5gated polariza5on eects

Improved robustness
Biaxial design

No moving parts

Simultaneous detec5on channels enable

depolariza5on measurement


S. Mitchell and J. P. Thayer, Ranging Through Shallow Semitransparent Media with Polariza>on

Lidar, Journal of Atmospheric & Oceanic Technology, 2013, in Review

39

Detec>on
Shallow Water Overlap
17 cm water (1.5 nsec delay)

1st surface cluQer

40

Mueller Matrix Polarimetry

The goal is to determine elements of the Mueller matrix

S0 m00
S m
1 = 10
S 2 m20

S3 m30

m01
m11
m21

m02
m12
m22

m31

m32

S0 = m00 S0 + m01S1 + m02 S 2 + m03 S3

S1 = m10 S0 + m11S1 + m12 S 2 + m13 S3

m03 S0
m13 S1
m23 S 2

m33 S3

S 2 = m20 S0 + m21S1 + m22 S 2 + m23 S3

S3 = m30 S0 + m31S1 + m32 S 2 + m33 S3

A Mueller matrix polarimeter has a polariza5on state generator (PSG) and

a polariza5on state analyzer (PSA), such that, for a single detector

I 0
a00
g

= AMg = g
g
g

g
g

a01
g

a02
g

g
g

g
g

a03 m00
g m10
g m20

g m30

m01
m11
m21

m02
m12
m22

m31

m32

m03 g 0
m13 g1
m23 g 2

m33 g3

I 0 = a00 ( m00 g 0 + m01 g1 + m02 g 2 + m03 g3 ) + a01 ( m10 g 0 + m11 g1 + m12 g 2 + m13 g 3 ) +
a02 ( m20 g 0 + m21 g1 + m22 g 2 + m23 g3 ) + a03 ( m30 g 0 + m31 g1 + m32 g 2 + m33 g 3 )

Thesis Status Update

Steve Mitchell 13 April 2012

42

Thesis Status Update

Steve Mitchell 13 April 2012

43

Retarder
Imposes phase
shiw between
orthogonal modes

DiaQenuator
Polariza5on
dependent eciency
Increase DOP

Depolarizer
Reduces DOP