Laboratory Simulation of Atmospheric Turbulence in the Problem of Correcting Laser Radiation Wavefront Distortions by Using a Fast Adaptive Optical System

Abstract—Atmospheric turbulence has been simulated under laboratory conditions, where a household heat fan has been used as a source of air flows of different temperatures. The wavefront distortions of laser radiation passing through a heated air flow have been studied by means of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor, which is part of a fast adaptive optical system that has a correction rate of up to 2000 Hz (frames per second). The energy spectra of laser radiation wavefront disturbances are presented, which help determine the frequency bandwidth of the disturbing effect. Based on the calculated Fried parameter, a graph is plotted for the turbulent flow, which compares the results of the laboratory simulation with the real conditions of the Earth’s atmosphere.