Emulation of dynamic wavefront disturbances using a deformable mirror.
Boundary-layer turbulence resulting from uneven airflow around window interfaces can impact airborne laser communications (lasercom). In the focal plane, these distortions can produce fast jitter and beam break-up, posing challenges for tracking and communications. We demonstrate an experimental emulator that reproduces aircraft aero-optical distortions using a deformable mirror. This boundary-layer emulator resides in a hardware testbed that experimentally mimics air-to-space lasercom links in a controlled, laboratory environment. The boundary-layer emulator operates in the 1.55-mum band and accurately recreates aero-optical distortions at a rate of 2 kilo-frames per second.
Conrad
Ross A
RA
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139, USA . raconrad@gmail.com
Wilcox
Williams E
WE
Williams
Timothy H
TH
Michael
Steven
S
Roth
Jeffrey M
JM