Optical Techniques for Thermal Focusing.
Abstract
A scaled laboratory analog of atmospheric thermal blooming of high energy laser propagation was constructed and used to investigate uniformly illuminated apertures, both square and circular with obscurations, and wedge intensity profiles for square apertures, including windward edge concave circular apertures. Cylindrical (astigmatic) corrections and refocusing were also investigated. Interferograms of the phase shift in the propagation path during thermal blooming referred to the input aperture were taken for square apertures, for axisymmetric Gaussian intensity profiles and for the circularly apodized wedge intensities. The unobscured square or circular aperture gave twice the central intensity for heavy blooming in comparison to an 'infinite' Gaussian.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA023865
Entities
People
- E. A. Philips
- F. H. Scammell
- G. W. Sutton
- P. F. Kellen