Title

Pointing, Tracking, And Acquisition Through Atmospheric Turbulence Utilizing Reciprocal Path Techniques

Abstract

A naturally-occurring, enhanced backscatter appears whenever an object being obscured by a turbulent medium is actively illuminated and imaged by a monostatic transmitter/receiver. After making a double passage through the same turbulent eddies, reciprocal scattering paths, which encounter an identical phase delay, create a returning conjugate wave resulting in an enhanced illumination along the boresight of the telescope. Utilizing a dual aperture and orthogonal polarization to isolate the reciprocal paths, the backscatter enhancement occurs in the form of Young's interference fringes. For high visibility and stability of the fringes in the presence of time-varying turbulence, the width of an individual aperture is small compared to the atmospheric coherence diameter. With the separation and the width of the two apertures fixed and known, interferometric sensitivity of the displacement of objects was attained even when viewing through a turbulent atmosphere. Laboratory experimental data is compared with computer simulations and to analytical models. The results demonstrate the possibility of using this technique in a closed-loop pointing and tracking system, which would have potential applications in ground-to-space laser communications, laser power beaming to satellites and theater missile defense scenarios.

Publication Date

1-1-1996

Publication Title

Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering

Volume

2739

Number of Pages

40-51

Document Type

Article; Proceedings Paper

Personal Identifier

scopus

Socpus ID

0029749726 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/0029749726

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