Aperture size and bandwidth requirements for measuring strong scintillation in the atmosphere

Abstract

Irradiance statistics were simultaneously measured with five apertures of four different sizes and also with five different bandwidths under conditions of strong path-integrated turbulence to determine aperture size and bandwidth requirements. The probability density function and the second and third moments are considered. Good measurements of these statistics can be made with detector apertures near the wave coherence length and with bandwidths near the ratio of the transverse wind velocity to the wave coherence length under these conditions.