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Title: Turbulence induced scintillation studies at near and mid-infrared wavelengths

Conference ·
OSTI ID:891749

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has developed a remote-sensing LIDAR system designed to detect trace chemicals in the atmosphere. Atmospheric optical turbulence is the largest noise source for the system, causing both fluctuations in the returned signal strength and signal loss due to laser beam break-up and wander. Field experiments have been conducted over the past few years in an effort to better understand the impact of atmospheric turbulence and develop strategies for improving the system. Studies have focused on the propagation of infrared laser beams at 1.278 and 9.56 micrometers over double-pass, horizontal path lengths ranging from 2 to 10 kilometers roundtrip under a variety of turbulence conditions. In addition, numerical simulations of our experimental setup have been developed to complement the experimental work. A Comparison of results from the simulations with those from the field experiments shows reasonable agreement. Therefore, similar simulations will be used to aid in the design of a next-generation system.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
891749
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-49228; NN2001000; TRN: US200622%%216
Resource Relation:
Conference: Atmospheric Propagation III, April 20, 2006, Kissimmee, Florida, USA. Proceedings of SPIE, 6215
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English