Short-range azimuth measurement method based on a single-pulse laser beam expanding mechanism

Aimed at addressing the problem of azimuth measurement of a short-range target with a pulsed laser, a new, to our knowledge, azimuth measurement method based on a single-pulse laser beam expanding mechanism is proposed based on the research of the pulse laser dynamic/static azimuth detection method. The echo power equation of single-pulse laser beam expanding short-range detection is derived theoretically. Combined with the spatial geometric distribution of the optical path and the normalized sum-difference angle measurement algorithm of the four-quadrant detector, a single-pulse laser short-range azimuth angle calculation model is established. Monte Carlo theoretical simulation and laboratory static measurement experiments are carried out. The influence mechanism of laser emission power, beam expanding reflection cone angle, and target projection size on the probability distribution of azimuth measurement is studied. The results show that with the increase of transmission power and target projection size, the half-width of azimuth measurement distribution decreases, the peak value increases, and the detection accuracy improves. With the increase of the cone angle of the reflected light, the half-width of the azimuth measurement distribution increases, the peak value decreases, and the detection accuracy decreases. As the spot is far away from the coordinate center, it will lead to an increase in the half-width of the azimuth measurement probability distribution, a decrease in the peak value, and a decrease in the detection accuracy.