Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Atmospheric Sciences

Air Force Institute of Technology

Lasers--Military applications

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Assessment Of Weather Sensitivities And Air Force Weather (Afw) Support To Tactical Lasers In The Lower Troposphere, Francesco J. Echeverria Mar 2009

Assessment Of Weather Sensitivities And Air Force Weather (Afw) Support To Tactical Lasers In The Lower Troposphere, Francesco J. Echeverria

Theses and Dissertations

ATL scientists need to develop a full understanding of the interaction effects between a high-energy laser beam and the atmosphere through which it propagates. Achieving this understanding is important for many reasons. In particular, the high cost of DE weapons systems makes each propagation event expensive. Having an understanding of the atmosphere in which a high-energy laser propagates will increase efficiency and effectiveness of the ATL weapon system, which in turn will decrease cost of operation. A tool that allows for the ATL war-fighter to determine the atmospheric effects on laser propagation currently does not exist. This study creates a …


Assessment Of Optical Turbulence Profiles Derived From Probabilistic Climatology, Brett W. Wisdom Mar 2007

Assessment Of Optical Turbulence Profiles Derived From Probabilistic Climatology, Brett W. Wisdom

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort assesses the performance of the High Energy Laser End-to-End Operational Simulation (HELEEOS) Climatological C2n optical turbulence model. Path-integrated C2n values of two HELEEOS optical turbulence pro les at 3 distinct operational altitudes are compared to values determined from measured thermosonde data. HELEEOS desert and mid-latitude sites are selected from the Extreme and Percentile Environmental Reference Tables (ExPERT) database for comparison to the thermosonde data. Statistical equivalence of the two datasets is determined through a Design of Experiments (DOE) factorial test to within 80% confidence. The HELEEOS profiles are shown to be equivalent to …


Atmospheric Simulation Using A Liquid Crystal Wavefront Controlling Device, Matthew R. Brooks Mar 2004

Atmospheric Simulation Using A Liquid Crystal Wavefront Controlling Device, Matthew R. Brooks

Theses and Dissertations

Test and evaluation of laser warning devices is important due to the increased use of laser devices in aerial applications. In this thesis, an atmospheric aberrating system is developed to enable in-lab testing of laser warning devices. This system employs laser light at 632.8nm from a Helium-Neon source and a spatial light modulator (SLM) to cause phase changes using a birefringent liquid crystal material. Before the system can be used, the SLM phase response must be quantified to ensure proper manipulation of index of refraction. Additionally, diffraction from the SLM and real-world system scaling are addressed. Once completed, the atmospheric …