General Expression For Laser Beam Spreading

M. B. Richardson

doi:10.1117/12.935764

12 July 1983 General Expression For Laser Beam Spreading

M. B. Richardson

Proceedings Volume 0410, Laser Beam Propagation in the Atmosphere; (1983) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.935764
Event: 1983 Technical Symposium East, 1983, Arlington, United States

Abstract

Atmospheric turbulence effects on laser beam propagation have been limited to the cases of very short exposure in the near-field and far-field and to the case of very long exposure. However for typical values of wavelength, aperture diameter, and pathlength, the Fresnel number can be on the order of unity. Thus neither the near- nor far-field condition is appropriate. In addition, pulse duration times can range from nonoseconds to seconds, thus neither the short nor long exposure limit is, in general, applicable. Since the limiting conditions do not apply to typical scenarios, a general interpolation expression for laser beam spreading, valid for arbitrary values of the Fresnel number and pulse duration, has been developed. This expression gives the proper limiting results in the near- and far-field, short exposure cases and long exposure case and entirely reasonable results in the intermediate cases.

Citation Download Citation

M. B. Richardson "General Expression For Laser Beam Spreading", Proc. SPIE 0410, Laser Beam Propagation in the Atmosphere, (12 July 1983); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.935764

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