Applications of High-Power Semiconductor Lasers in Marine Environmental Monitoring

The protection and utilization of marine resources is an important development strategy in China. It is of great significance to the healthy development of marine environment to monitor the sea targets round the clock timely and effectively, to perform measurement of wind power and direction, Ranging at sea, extraction of wave-making resistance information, and water pollution detection, etc. High power semiconductor lasers have the advantages of compact, light weight, high efficiency, good tunability, etc., and have become the ideal light source for ocean environment monitoring photoelectric systems such as wind detection radar, through fog range finder, wave monitoring, heavy metal detection instruments, and satellite-borne ocean altimeter and underwater imaging system for marine pollution control. This paper focuses on high power semiconductor lasers’ applications in the field of marine environmental monitoring. The development status and prospects of the respective semiconductor lasers used for these applications have also been summarized and analyzed.