A laboratory simulation instrument for metastable helium lidar

Zhaofeng Wang; Chuan Huang; Ruocan Zhao; Chaomei Wu; Zhenzhen Li; Jieqiong Gu; Boxing Zhu; Jinru Cheng; Hang Zhou; Zhenwei Liu; Chen Liang; Tingdi Chen; Weilong Luo; Chong Wang; Xianghui Xue; Yang Chen; Dongfeng Zhao

doi:10.1063/5.0301851

A laboratory simulation instrument for metastable helium lidar

Rev Sci Instrum. 2026 Mar 1;97(3):035102. doi: 10.1063/5.0301851.

Authors

Zhaofeng Wang^{1

2}, Chuan Huang³, Ruocan Zhao³, Chaomei Wu^{1

2}, Zhenzhen Li¹, Jieqiong Gu¹, Boxing Zhu¹, Jinru Cheng³, Hang Zhou³, Zhenwei Liu³, Chen Liang², Tingdi Chen^{2

3}, Weilong Luo², Chong Wang³, Xianghui Xue^{1

2

3

4}, Yang Chen^{1

2}, Dongfeng Zhao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Hefei National Research Center for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
² Hefei National Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.
⁴ CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Anhui Mengcheng Geophysics National Observation and Research Station, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 41817297
DOI: 10.1063/5.0301851

Abstract

Metastable helium lidar represents a promising technique for upper atmospheric detection; however, its implementation entails several critical scientific challenges that necessitate thorough experimental validation and refinement under controlled laboratory conditions. To address this need, we have developed a dedicated laboratory simulation instrument comprising three key components: (1) a metastable helium source chamber, (2) an integrated transmitter and receiver system, and (3) a precise experimental timing sequence. The metastable helium source, housed within the main vacuum chamber, is a pulsed supersonic plasma jet generated via gas discharge. The integrated transmitter and receiver emulate a lidar configuration, enabling the investigation of the backward fluorescence spectrum of metastable helium. The experimental timing sequence governs the operation of individual components and facilitates baseline noise subtraction through precise temporal alignment. A direct absorption spectroscopy detection scheme can also be implemented on the setup to perform calibration experiments. The system achieves a metastable helium atom density of ∼1010 cm-3. The density, velocity distribution, and flow speed of metastable helium atoms in the source can be controlled by changing the discharge nozzle configuration and discharge conditions. This simulation instrument enables the investigation of the saturation effect in the absorption spectrum of metastable helium atoms, providing valuable laboratory data for the design and data analysis of helium lidar systems. Ultimately, it also serves as a calibration tool for both ground-based and future spaceborne helium lidar devices.