Enhancement of the laser return mean power at the strong optical scintillation regime in a turbulent atmosphere

Abstract

The results of the analysis of the backscattered radiation mean power enhancement in a turbulent atmosphere are presented. The above enhancement arises because of the correlation of the forward and backward waves in a random media. The analysis was performed for the strong optical scintillation regime in a turbulent atmosphere. It is shown that the laser return mean power in the turbulent atmosphere can two times exceed that in a homogeneous medium because of the correlation of forward and backscattered waves. With an increase in the optical turbulence strength, the enhancement effect decreases according to the power law.