Angle scintillations in the laser return from a retroreflector

Abstract

Angle scintillations of the laser return from a retroreflector were observed to exceed the value expected because of atmospheric turbulence. The observations and a theoretical analysis of a possible mechanism are presented. The experimental work was performed with a pulsed, 1.06-μ laser illuminating a corner cube. Angular scintillations of the laser return were measured to be eight times greater than that of a reference beacon. The theoretical analysis assumes phase fluctuations in the illuminating laser beam. An expression is derived for the scintillation angle as a function of a phase fluctuation parameter.