Atmospheric Sciences Commons^™

Limitations Of Segmented Wavefront Control Devices In Emulating Optical Turbulence, Michael D. Plourde

Theses and Dissertations

Using a device to act as a surrogate for atmospheric turbulence in a laboratory is necessary to build and test optical systems for imaging, lidar, laser weapons, and laser communications. Liquid-crystal spatial light modulators (LC SLMs) and segmented micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) deformable mirrors (DMs) are commonly used devices for altering wavefronts in order to simulate a portion of atmospheric turbulence. The best location of these devices was theoretically analyzed to obtain the broadest possible range of atmospheric conditions. It was found that two phase screens should be placed at the beginning of the optical path to achieve maximum turbulence strength for …