Influence of fog on the signal to interference plus noise ratio of the imaging laser radar using a 16-element APD array

This paper investigates the signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) performance of the imaging laser radar (ILR) system operating at a wavelength of 905 nm using an avalanche photodiode array under the fog condition. We analysis the glow image of the light source, which is formed by the laser spot irradiated on a standard Lambertian target. Based on the proposed theoretical model, we determine the interference due to the glow inter-channel crosstalk under different fog conditions for a targeted channel. We show that, for transmission spans less than several tens of meters the interference due to glow crosstalk is higher than the fog (light to medium) induced losses. However, for a link range longer than 21 m the glow crosstalk induced interference is lower than the heavy fog induced attenuation. The proposed system performance is evaluated by developing an experimental test bed and using a dedicated indoor atmospheric chamber under homogeneously controlled fog conditions. We show that, under different fog conditions experimental results for changing SINR levels match well with the predicted data. The results shown can be used for design optimization of the ILR system when operated under fog conditions.