The airborne multi-wavelength water vapor differential absorption lidar WALES: system design and performance

Abstract

A high-performance airborne water vapor differential absorption lidar has been developed during the past years. This system uses a four-wavelength/three-absorptionline measurement scheme in the 935 nm H₂O absorption band to cover the whole troposphere and lower stratosphere simultaneously. Additional high spectral resolution aerosol and depolarization channels allow precise aerosol characterization. This system is intended to demonstrate a future space-borne instrument. For the first time, it realizes an output power of up to 12 W at a high wall-plug efficiency using diode-pumped solid-state lasers andn onlinear conver-sion techniques. Special attention was given to a rugged optical layout. This paper describes the system layout and technical realization. Key performance parameters are given for the different subsystems.