Measuring the Tyler frequency with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor

An approach to estimating the Tyler frequency from Shack-Hartmann wave front sensor data is presented. The technique is demonstrated with data collected in the Air Force Research Laboratory's Beam Control Lab (BCL) at Kirtland AFB, NM. The BCL's Reflective Atmospheric Turbulence Simulator (RATS) was used to generate a series of horizontal turbulence conditions. Sixteen, 1 and 2km path cases provide a range of Tyler frequencies for testing. The results are compared with the expected Tyler frequencies calculated from the RATS configurations.