Mathematical model for the irradiance probability density function of a laser beam propagating through turbulent media

Ammar Al-Habash; Larry C. Andrews; R. L. Phillips

doi:10.1117/1.1386641

1 August 2001 Mathematical model for the irradiance probability density function of a laser beam propagating through turbulent media

Ammar Al-Habash, Larry C. Andrews, R. L. Phillips

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 40, Issue 8, (August 2001). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1386641

We develop a model for the probability density function (pdf) of the irradiance fluctuations of an optical wave propagating through a turbulent medium. The model is a two-parameter distribution that is based on a doubly stochastic theory of scintillation that assumes that small-scale irradiance fluctuations are modulated by large-scale irradi- ance fluctuations of the propagating wave, both governed by independent gamma distributions. The resulting irradiance pdf takes the form of a generalized Kdistribution that we term the gamma-gamma distribution. The two parameters of the gamma-gamma pdf are determined using a recently published theory of scintillation, using only values of the refractive-index structure parameter Cn2 (or Rytov variance) and inner scale l0 provided with the simulation data. This enables us to directly calculate various log-irradiance moments that are necessary in the scaled plots. We make a number of comparisons with published plane wave and spherical wave simulation data over a wide range of turbulence conditions (weak to strong) that includes inner scale effects. The gamma-gamma pdf is found to generally provide a good fit to the simulation data in nearly all cases tested.

©(2001) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

Citation Download Citation

Ammar Al-Habash, Larry C. Andrews, and R. L. Phillips "Mathematical model for the irradiance probability density function of a laser beam propagating through turbulent media," Optical Engineering 40(8), (1 August 2001). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.1386641

Published: 1 August 2001

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