Sensing refractive-turbulence profiles (C-squared(n)) using wave front slope measurements from two reference sources

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Abstract
This paper examines a remote sensing technique for measuring the atmospheric structure constant, C-squared(n) as a function of altitude by performing spatial correlation of wave front sensor measurements. Two point sources are used to irradiate separate wave front sensors in the aperture plane of an optical system. The geometric relationship between the sources and the sensors gives rise to crossed optical paths. At the point where the paths cross, the turbulence contributions in both paths are highly correlated. The correlation of the slope sensor measurements is shown to be mathematically related to the structure constant in terms of an integral of C-squared(n) multiplied by a path weighting function. The value of the structure constant can be inferred from the correlation. The resolution of the technique depends on the angle between the optical paths and the size of the wave front sensor apertures. For sensing the vertical profile of C-squared(n), resolution on the order of 100 m can be obtained by using sources separated by 0.29 deg.

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