Emulation of optical effects of atmospheric turbulence using two liquid-crystal spatial light modulators

Jason D. Schmidt; Matthew E. Goda; Bradley D. Duncan

doi:10.1117/12.734411

27 September 2007 Emulation of optical effects of atmospheric turbulence using two liquid-crystal spatial light modulators

Jason D. Schmidt, Matthew E. Goda, Bradley D. Duncan

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6711, Advanced Wavefront Control: Methods, Devices, and Applications V; 67110M (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.734411
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Phase-only liquid-crystal spatial light modulators (SLMs) provide an excellent means of producing electrically controllable, dynamic, and repeatable aberrations. Emulating the aberrating effects of atmospheric turbulence is the application studied here. This paper implements a new method for designing a SLM-based turbulent path in the laboratory. The turbulent path was constructed with well-calibrated SLMs and was subsequently used to implement an appropriately scaled ground-to-air laser engagement. After propagation through the turbulent path, the irradiance and phase properties of the aberrated light were measured with an image sensor and a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, respectively. The resulting wave structure functions and log-amplitude probability densities showed excellent agreement with theoretical expectations and the results of wave-optics simulations.

Citation Download Citation

Jason D. Schmidt, Matthew E. Goda, and Bradley D. Duncan "Emulation of optical effects of atmospheric turbulence using two liquid-crystal spatial light modulators", Proc. SPIE 6711, Advanced Wavefront Control: Methods, Devices, and Applications V, 67110M (27 September 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.734411

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available