Practical application of pulsed "eye-safe" microchip laser to laser rangefinders

Abstract

The paper describes practical application of pulsed microchip laser generating at 1535-nm wavelength to a laser rangefinder. The complete prototype of a laser rangefinder was built and investigated in real environmental conditions. The measured performance of the device is discussed. To build the prototype of a laser rangefinder at a reasonable price and shape a number of basic considerations had to be done. These include the mechanical and optical design of a microchip laser and the opto-mechanical construction of the rangefinder. © 2013 Versita Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Wien.