Simultaneous scintillation measurements of coherent and partially coherent beams in an open atmosphere experiment

摘要

Scintillation indices, probability distribution functions and signal spectra are measured simultaneously for spatially coherent and partially coherent optical beams propagating through various distances in an open atmosphere. The partially coherent beam is produced by coupling the broadband output of a super-luminescent diode to a multimode optical fiber. A simple system to adjust the coherence radius by controlling the numerical aperture at the fiber output is implemented. Substantial reduction of the scintillation index and signal fade probability as compared to a slightly diverging coherent Gaussian beam are observed at all propagation distances studied up to 6.5 km.