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Optical Technique for Simulating Severe Phase Distortion Effects on Imaging System Performance

J. C. Ricklin, Army Research Laboratory, White Sand Missile Range, N.M.

Anew technique was recently introduced that allows study of imaging system performance in the presence of controlled phase distortions. Previous methods for introducing phase distortions into an image relied on a technique such as using a cell of heated water having turbulent refractive index fluctuations along the path of light propagation, or heating air to produce strong phase distortions. The latter method was shown to produce turbulence that was reasonably homogeneous, isotropic, and, within a specified range of parameters, to agree with the Kolmogorov model for the phase structure function.