title: Effect of spatial coherence on laser beam self-focusing from orbit to the ground in the atmosphere.
abstract: The effect of spatial coherence on laser beam self-focusing in the atmosphere to assist delivering powerful laser beams from orbit to the ground is studied. It is found that a fully coherent beam is more strongly compressed on the ground than a partially (spatial) coherent beam (PCB), even so, for a PCB the compressed spot size on the ground may be reduced below the diffraction limit due to self-focusing effect, and a PCB has higher threshold critical power than a fully coherent beam. Furthermore, an effective design rule for maximal compression without beam splitting of the transported PCB from orbit to the ground is presented.
authors.forename: Hanling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xianqu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yuqiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang