High resolution kilometric range optical telemetry in air by radio frequency phase measurement

Joffray Guillory (1) , Radek Šmíd (1, 2) , Jorge Garcia-Marquez (1) , Daniel E Truong (1) , Christophe Alexandre (3) , Jean-Pierre Wallerand (1)

1 LCM - Laboratoire commun de métrologie LNE-CNAM
2 CAS - Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague]
3 CEDRIC - LAETITIA - CEDRIC. Traitement du signal et architectures électroniques

We have developed an optical Absolute Distance Meter (ADM) based on the measurement of the phase accumulated by a Radio Frequency (RF) wave during its propagation in the air by a laser beam. In this article, the ADM principle will be described and the main results presented. In particular, we will emphasize how the choice of an appropriate photodetector can significantly improve the telemeter performances by minimizing the amplitude to phase conversion. Our prototype, tested in the field, has proven its efficiency with a resolution better than 15 µm for a measurement time of 10 ms and distances up to 1.2 km.

Domains: Electronics

Joffray Guillory, Radek Šmíd, Jorge Garcia-Marquez, Daniel E Truong, Christophe Alexandre, et al.. High resolution kilometric range optical telemetry in air by radio frequency phase measurement. Review of Scientific Instruments, 2016, 87 (7), pp.075105. ⟨10.1063/1.4954180⟩. ⟨hal-02448931⟩