Drone Demonstrator Phase of a Photon Counting Pulse Train Lidar through the Use of Diodes Lasers

Current satellite lidars have sparse spatial coverage which is prohibitive for many applications requiring continuous coverage. These use solid-state lasers which are bulky and have a low efficiency. Emerging high power and high brightness diode laser technology alongside single photon detectors provide a means of reaching continuous coverage of a lidar system whilst reducing weight, complexity and cost. In this work, we demonstrate by developing a drone demonstrator that a pulse train diode laser lidar can be robust to noise and provide enough energy for an in-orbit system.