Propagation of vortex beams through a turbulent atmosphere

Date of Award

2009

Degree Name

M.S. in Electro-Optics

Department

Department of Electro-Optics and Photonics

Advisor/Chair

Advisor: Qiwen Zhan

Abstract

This thesis study and compare the propagation properties of both scalar and vector vortex beams through turbulent atmosphere. The irradiance pattern, degree of polarization, and scintillation index of radially polarized beam are computed for different propagation distance into an atmosphere with weak and strong turbulence. Corresponding properties of a fundamental Gaussian beam, a scalar vortex beam with topological charge of +1 propagating through an atmosphere under the same turbulence condition are calculated for comparison. The results demonstrate that the existence of the vectorial vortex can be identified with longer propagation distance than the scalar vortex even with disappearing characteristic vortex structure in the irradiance images. This indicates the potential advantages of using vector vortex to mitigate atmospheric effects and enable a more robust free space communication channel with longer link distance.

Keywords

Laser beams Atmospheric effects, Atmospheric turbulence, Vortex-motion

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2009, author

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