MILOS™
Underwater Lidar Imaging System
MILOS is an underwater LIDAR imaging system for airborne and underwater platforms developed by SA Photonics. MILOS is operable in deep water and turbid coastal water where SONAR has limitations.
Unlike traditional underwater LIDAR systems, which suffer from low frequency backscatter that hide actual return signals, MILOS uses an RF modulated laser source to provide significant backscatter rejection, resulting in better target imagery. In addition, MILOS can precisely measure target textures.
MILOS consists of five primary sub-systems: a flexible, modulated light source supporting peak powers in excess of 5 kW; an RF coherent receiver with direct digital capture to provide highly accurate phase measurements; a wide bandwidth, high sensitivity intensified photo diode; an 8 kV, 500 kHz switching high voltage power supply; and an integrated graphical user interface to control all functionality.
Category | Parameter | Value |
Pulse Generator | Pulse Carrier Frequency | 0.5 – 2 GHz |
Pulse Width | 10 – 120 nsec | |
Coded Waveform Support | Yes (arbitrary waveform) | |
Pulse Repetition Frequency (PRF) | 50 – 500 kHz | |
Receiver | Amplitude Accuracy | <0.2 dB |
Phase Accuracy | <0.5 degrees | |
Time-of-Flight Accuracy | <200 psec | |
Memory Depth | 512 MB | |
Maximum number of Rx gates | 1,048,576 | |
Optical | Wavelength | 532 nm |
Peak Power | 15 kW | |
Average Power | >5 W | |
Amplitude Stability | 5% | |
Timing Stability | 20 psec pulse-to-pulse | |
Average Power Stability | <2% | |
Pulse Droop | <10% | |
Output Beam Diameter | <3 mm |