On the Phase Structure and Mutual Coherence Function of an Optical Wave in a Turbulent Atmosphere

Abstract

The present work shows that the most commonly used expression for the mutual coherence function (MCF) for an optical wave propagating in a turbulent atmosphere is, in general, incorrect. This expression is based on an unphysical extrapolation of the Kolmogorov spectrum. Along an atmospheric path, with specified turbulence parameters, the new MCF is shown to imply greater resolution, less beam spreading, and greater heterodyne signal-to-noise ratios than indicated by previous calculations. By comparing these results with those previously obtained for heterodyne detection, the percentage errors in the previous calculations are shown to increase with decreasing propagation paths. In particular, where it was formerly thought that the atmosphere limited the effective coherent detection size in heterodyne detection at all ranges, the present calculation reveals that over sufficiently short paths, there is no size limit imposed by the atmosphere.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1971
Accession Number
AD0727583

Entities

People

  • H. T. Yura
  • R. F. Lutomirski

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Agreements
  • Arms Control
  • Atmospheres
  • Civil Defense
  • Communication Satellites
  • Communication Systems
  • Contracts
  • Detection
  • Heterodyne Detection
  • Plane Waves
  • Refraction
  • Refractive Index
  • Security
  • Spherical Waves
  • Wave Propagation
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Statistical inference.