Inner- and outer-scale effects on the scintillation index of an optical wave propagating through moderate-to-strong non-Kolmogorov turbulence

By use of the generalized von Karman spectrum model that features both inner scale and outer scale parameters for non-Kolmogorov turbulence and the extended Rytov method that incorporates a modified amplitude spatial-frequency filter function under strong-fluctuation conditions, theoretical expressions are developed for the scintillation index of a horizontally propagating plane wave and spherical wave that are valid under moderate-to-strong irradiance fluctuations. Numerical results show that the obtained expressions also compare well with previous results in weak-fluctuation regimes. Based on these general models, the impacts of finite inner and outer scales on the scintillation index of an optical wave are examined under various non-Kolmogorov fluctuation conditions. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America