Noise Function Turbulence Optical Phase Screens and Physics Based Rendering

Date of Award

2021

Degree Name

Ph.D. in Electro-Optics and Photonics

Department

Department of Electro-Optics and Photonics

Advisor/Chair

Paul F. McManamon 1946-

Abstract

Wave optics is used for modeling laser propagation through turbulence, and with laser technology maturation, the simulation space has expanded to the point that current turbulence representations via phase screens are lacking. This research eliminates such deficiencies by adopting a fractal description of turbulence in order to facilitate a noise function based phase screen. Primarily focused on aero-optical data collected using Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors, novel analysis processes are developed that leverages off of wavelets, circular statistics, optical flow, and radial basis functions. The resulting values serve as inputs for noise function based phase screens generators supported by a dedicated physics based render engine developed from first principles. Finally, multiple wave optics simulations demonstrate the flexibility of this methodology, culminating with an airborne example that includes turret slew over the hemisphere, producing angle dependent far-field irradiance profiles distorted by localized, non-stationary turbulence.

Keywords

Physics, Optics, Computer Science, Electromagnetics, turbulence phase screens, aero-optical turbulence analysis, physics based rendering, radial basis functions, Perlin noise function

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2021, author.

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