Method and apparatus for determining a velocity

摘要

A velocity such as wind velocity is measured based on a Doppler shift of a backscattered or returned laser signal. The Doppler shift of the backscattered beam is determined from a change in the polarization state or intensity shift of the received or backscattered signal after it has passed through a polarization-dispersive element (PD) and through a polarization analyzer (PA). The electrical signals (I1 and I2) generated from two partial beams provided by the polarization analyzer (PA) represent an the intensity shift. The signals are processed in a computer and the resulting information is displayed, for example.