Numerical approach to laser beam propagation through turbulent atmosphere and evaluation of beam quality factor

In this paper, propagation of a Gaussian laser beam through turbulent atmosphere is evaluated numerically. The beam quality factor for the propagated beam has been estimated for different turbulent conditions that are characterized by parameter C-n. The calculations show that the beam quality can be affected dramatically by atmospheric turbulence and the laser beam size and wavelength have major role in the results. Furthermore, the propagation of laser beam in longer distance results in more spatial perturbation of the beam. The results of these calculations and evaluation of beam quality factor M-2 can be used for estimating the refractive index structure parameter (or atmosphere turbulent parameter) C-n. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.