Development of a compact space-borne Lidar for atmospheric aerosol and cloud detection

Space-borne lidar is preferred for observing different characteristic aerosols that should be distributed vertically in every corner of the world. Therefore, a compact space-borne lidar (CSBL) with a high repetition rate laser and photon counting mode is developed to meet the detection requirements in this paper. The detection principle is described in detail, and the design parameters of the CSBL are simulated. The CSBL is assembled and calibrated in its entirety after the development of a long-life, high-beam quality laser and a highly sensitive, quantum-efficient single-photon counting core component. Moreover, after ground and flight tests, the CSBL completed the integrated inversion of atmospheric aerosols and clouds, and it can remotely detect global atmospheric aerosols and cloud spatial distribution structures.