An Atmospheric Limit On Submillimeter Wave Imaging: Observations Of High Visibility Fringes

G. A. Tanton; R. L. Morgan; W. G. Otten; J. G. Castle Jr.

doi:10.1117/12.959652

27 February 1981 An Atmospheric Limit On Submillimeter Wave Imaging: Observations Of High Visibility Fringes

G. A. Tanton, R. L. Morgan, W. G. Otten, J. G. Castle Jr.

Proceedings Volume 0259, Millimeter Optics; (1981) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.959652
Event: 1980 Huntsville Technical Symposium, 1980, Huntsville, United States

Abstract

Measurements have been made on the Redstone Arsenal Submillimeter Wave range of weather related changes in the coherence within a transmitted laser beam whose wavelength is 1.2 mm and divergence is less than five milliradians. Our experimental techniques, variations of a Michelson interferometer, are described in brief. Our preliminary observations of rapid fluctuations superposed on high visibility fringes are discussed in terms of local fluctuations in the complex index of refraction of the near ground atmosphere, as treated theoretically by Armand et al. For our beam geometry, a limit to the observed fringe visibility appears to be set by local fluctuations in the real part of the complex index of refraction.

Citation Download Citation

G. A. Tanton, R. L. Morgan, W. G. Otten, and J. G. Castle Jr. "An Atmospheric Limit On Submillimeter Wave Imaging: Observations Of High Visibility Fringes", Proc. SPIE 0259, Millimeter Optics, (27 February 1981); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.959652

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