Airborne Laser Communications Scintillation Measurements

As part of the HAVE LACE (Laser Airborne Communications Experiment) program, optical scintillation data was collected and is being analyzed. This data will be used to examine the effects of scintillation on air-to-air laser communication performance. The HAVE LACE terminals use direct detection of a pulsed diode laser. The random variations in received signal strength, called scintillation, are caused by the time varying index of refraction, called atmospheric turbulence. The scintillation data that was collected is compared to terrestrial scintillation data in an effort to validate atmospheric turbulence models. Valid models can then be used to aid in the design of air-to-air laser communication terminals that provide acceptable probability of error performance.