Statistics of the beacon and high-energy laser wavefronts in airborne laser

Michael W. Oppenheimer; Meir Pachter

doi:10.1117/12.323928

8 September 1998 Statistics of the beacon and high-energy laser wavefronts in airborne laser

Michael W. Oppenheimer, Meir Pachter

Proceedings Volume 3381, Airborne Laser Advanced Technology; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.323928
Event: Aerospace/Defense Sensing and Controls, 1998, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

In this work, the application of adaptive optics to the Airborne Laser is considered. The objective is to determine the statistics of the Zernike polynomial coefficients of the phase of the beacon and high energy laser wavefronts. The process of determining the covariance matrix of the phase expansion coefficients of the inbound (beacon) and outbound (high energy laser) wavefront phases is outlined. This work differs from previous research in that it exclusively focuses on the Airborne Laser engagement kinematics. Specifically, the temporal dependence of the above mentioned covariance matrix is determined with appropriate modifications to previous work. Atmospheric wind is neglected due to the large virtual wind induced by the aperture and target velocities. This requires the Taylor's frozen flow hypothesis be modified. Moreover, due to the finite distance between the receiving/transmitting apertures and the target, spherical wavefronts must be used throughout the development.

Citation Download Citation

Michael W. Oppenheimer and Meir Pachter "Statistics of the beacon and high-energy laser wavefronts in airborne laser", Proc. SPIE 3381, Airborne Laser Advanced Technology, (8 September 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.323928

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