Efficiency Analysis of Homodyne Detection for a Coherent Lidar with Adaptive Optics

For a coherent lidar, the efficiency of homodyne detection is a significant factor. Adaptive optics (AO) is an effective way to correct the turbulence-induced wavefront distortions. Based on our previous works, an expression for the homodyne detection efficiency is given. The results of the numerical simulation show that the atmospheric coherent length has an influence on the homodyne detection efficiency for a fixed atmospheric Greenwood frequency and a closed-loop control bandwidth. In addition, an experimental AO system is employed to verify the effect of the AO on the coherent lidar. The results show that the homodyne detection efficiency is obviously improved after aberrations are corrected. The conclusion of this paper provides a reference for designing an AO system for a coherent lidar.