LiDAR's shorter wavelength allows high-resolution imaging, making it preferable for environmental pollutant monitoring. By detecting and tracking aerosols and various pollutants in the air, sources of pollution and pollution levels can be determined in real-time. However, conventional optics based LiDAR systems face several challenges that result in LiDAR systems being very expansive. It is essential to overcome these challenges before widespread adoption can be achieved for large scale environmental monitoring using LiDAR. This review paper presents diffractive optical elements (DOEs) as a key enabler to overcome them. By manipulating laser beam characteristics and achieving tailored LiDAR beam profiles using DOEs, the sensitivity, the spatial resolution, and pollutant discrimination capability of LiDAR system is improved.
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