Characterization of laboratory-generated turbulence by optical phase measurements

Eric P. Magee; Byron M. Welsh

doi:10.1117/12.181180

1 November 1994 Characterization of laboratory-generated turbulence by optical phase measurements

Eric P. Magee, Byron M. Welsh

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 33, Issue 11, (November 1994). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.181180

Abstract

The resolution achieved by an optical imaging system in the presence of the random effects of the atmosphere is severely degraded from the theoretical diffraction limit. Techniques exist for recovering near diffraction-limited performance of an imaging system in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. These image enhancement techniques include speckle imaging, deconvolution, and adaptive optics. A turbulence chamber has been designed and built for laboratory testing of current and future adaptive optics and image enhancement techniques. The turbulence is produced within a chamber consisting of two small fans and a heating element. The effects of the generated turbulence on optical propagation are directly measured by sensing the perturbed wavefront phase. The wavefront phases are measured using a shearing interferometer. The statistical properties of the turbulence are then characterized by means of estimating the phase structure function from the wavefront phase measurements. We found that the estimate of the phase structure function depends only on the magnitude of the separation between two points on the optical wavefront and follows the Kolmogorov 5/3 power law.

Citation Download Citation

Eric P. Magee and Byron M. Welsh "Characterization of laboratory-generated turbulence by optical phase measurements," Optical Engineering 33(11), (1 November 1994). https://doi.org/10.1117/12.181180

Published: 1 November 1994

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