Remote steering of laser beams by radar- and laser-induced refractive-index gradients in the atmosphere
✍ Scribed by A.M. Zheltikov; M.N. Shneider; A.A. Voronin; A.V. Sokolov; M.O. Scully
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 127 KB
- Volume
- 9
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1612-2011
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✦ Synopsis
Refractive-index gradients induced in the atmospheric air by properly tailored laser and microwave fields are shown to enable a remote steering of laser beams. Heatingassisted modulation of the refractive index of the air by microwave radiation is shown to support small-angle laser-beam bending with bending angles on the order of 10 -2 . Ionization of the atmospheric air by dyads of femto-and nanosecond laser pulses, on the other hand, can provide beam deflection angles in excess of π/5, offering an attractive strategy for radiation transfer, free-space communications, and laser-based standoff detection.
Trajectory of a laser beam against refractive-index gradient n(x)