There are very few Ceilometer manufacturers in the world.   Ceilometers have advanced technical requirements and the cost of development is  high.   In the production phase ceilometers are assembled from  many special optical and electronic parts.   During testing they require specialised pulsed laser power meters,  spectrophotometers and advanced electronic test equipment, together with a cloudy climate to enable regular testing and continuous product improvement.

Sensor Range Class

• 12500 ft range, ( 3800m)  an example of which was the original CT12K.  This range is now encompassed by the 25,000 ft range sensors.
• 25,000 ft range ( 7600m) These are the main sensors on the market since  in the main application there is little operational need to go beyond even 12500 ft.  These sensors also find application in Planetary Boundary Layer ( PBL) studies.
•  50,000 ft  range (15,200m) Special instruments that find more application in volcanic ash warning in aviation and upper atmosphere studies in atmospheric science.   Although in theory only requiring a modest increase in signal to noise ratio,  the cloud species above 20,000 ft are most often comprised of ice crystals and have much lower volume back-scatter coefficients than water cloud so the reliable detection of thin layers of cirrus cloud becomes very difficult while maintaining the laser eye safety mandate.  Ceilometers in this range generally achieve the necessary signal to noise ratio improvement by a range of techniques including increasing laser pulse energy ( while still remaining eye safe ), using a different laser wavelength,  and or reducing the telescope field of view and laser beam divergence.

25,000 ft range for Aviation and PBL studies

CL31     :  http://www.vaisala.com/en/products/ceilometers/Pages/default.aspx

8200-CHS :   http://www.ceilometers.com/

CS135   :   https://www.campbellsci.com.au/cs135

8339 :  https://www.allweatherinc.com/

50000 ft Range for Atmospheric Science

CL51     : http://www.vaisala.com/en/products/ceilometers/Pages/default.aspx

8400-CHS    http://www.ceilometers.com/