Numerical Modeling of Optical Energy Transfer Based on Coherent Beam Combination under Turbulent Atmospheric Conditions

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of atmospheric turbulence is numerically modeled and analyzed via a phase-screen model, in regard to long-range optical energy transfer using coherent beam combination. The coherent-beam-combination system consists of three channel beams pointing at a target at a distance of 1-2 km. The phase and propagation direction of each channel beam are assumed to be corrected in an appropriate manner, and the atmospheric turbulence that occurs while the beam propagates through free space is quantified with a phase-screen model. The phase screen is statistically generated and constructed within the range of fluctuations of the structure constant   from 10−15 to 10−13 [m  ]. Particularly, in this discussion the shape, distortion, and combining efficiency of the 3-channel combined beam are calculated at the target plane by varying the structure constant used in the phase-screen model, and the effect of atmospheric turbulence on beam-combination efficiency is analyzed. Analysis with this numerical model verifies that when coherent beam combination is used for long-range optical energy transfer, the received power at the target can be at least three times the power obtainable by incoherent beam combination, even for maximal atmospheric fluctuation within the given range. This numerical model is expected to be effective for analyzing the effects of various types of atmospheric-turbulence conditions and beam-combination methods when simulating long-range optical energy transfer.