Investigation of laser propagation characteristics based on a warm-air convection turbulence simulator

Free-space light propagation is inevitably influenced by atmospheric turbulence, which leads to scintillation, arrival-of-angle (AOA) fluctuation, or even optical link interruption. Conducting outfield experiments directly often involves haze pollution, uncontrollable weather, and greater labor and material costs. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out the laboratory investigation of laser propagation based on a turbulence simulator with good performance. The turbulence simulator proposed in this work has the advantages of having a wide inertial region, good controllability, and high experimental repeatability. An AOA fluctuation measurement system is established, assisted by the home-built turbulence simulator. Simultaneously, the variance, power spectra, and probability distribution of AOA fluctuation were collected and analyzed with two laser beam diameters using a comparative approach. The experimental results show the suppression effect of the broad laser beam on AOA fluctuation. Additionally, the variation of the atmospheric refractive index structure constant is inverted by the AOA fluctuation variance.