Abstract

Measurements of focused spot characteristics and the atmospheric modulation transfer function (MTF) over a 5.4-km horizontal path with laser light at 10.6 μm and 0.63 μm are reported. The atmospheric coherence diameter has been shown to be proportional to λ^6/5 in verification of theory. The atmospherically degraded long-exposure 10.6-μm spot shape was Gaussian, and the spot wander exhibited a stronger dependence on turbulence strength relative to spot blur than was theoretically predicted. The diurnal cycle of the 10.6-μm spot characteristics and of the 10.6- and 0.63-μm atmospheric MTF’s under clear-sky conditions were also observed.

© 1974 Optical Society of America

Instantaneous intensity distribution in a focused laser beam at 0.63 μm and 10.6 μm propagating through the atmosphere

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