Abstract

Inhomogeneities in the refractive index of the atmosphere affect the propagation of laser light used, for example, for communications links. A lidar backscatter technique may be a useful way to determine some characteristics of the vertical profile of refractive turbulence under daytime conditions. We have simulated the performance of a high-angular-resolution (essentially diffraction-limited) lidar by calculating the received image size and energy as a function of altitude for different assumed profiles of C_n², the refractive-index structure constant.