Abstract

We developed an adaptive optics test bench using an optical simulator and two rotating phase plates that mimicked the atmospheric turbulence at Bohyunsan Observatory. The observatory was reported to have a Fried parameter with a mean value of 85 mm and standard deviation of 13 mm, often expressed as 85 ± 13 mm. First, we fabricated several phase plates to generate realistic atmospheric-like turbulence. Then, we selected a pair from among the fabricated phase plates to emulate the atmospheric turbulence at the site. The result was 83 ± 11 mm. To address dynamic behavior, we emulated the atmospheric disturbance produced by a wind flow of 8.3 m/s by controlling the rotational speed of the phase plates. Finally, we investigated how closely the atmospheric disturbance simulation emulated reality with an investigation of the measurements on the optical table. The verification confirmed that the simulator showed a Fried parameter of 87 ± 15 mm as designed, but a little slower wind velocity (7.5 ± 2.5 m/s) than expected. This was because of the nonlinear motion of the phase plates. In conclusion, we successfully mimicked the atmospheric disturbance of Bohyunsan Observatory with an error of less than 10% in terms of Fried parameter and wind velocity.

© 2022 Optical Society of Korea

Production of phase screens for simulation of atmospheric turbulence

Rachel Rampy, Don Gavel, Daren Dillon, and Sandrine Thomas
Appl. Opt. 51(36) 8769-8778 (2012)

Atmosphere-like turbulence generation with surface-etched phase-screens

Stefan Hippler, Felix Hormuth, David J. Butler, Wolfgang Brandner, and Thomas Henning
Opt. Express 14(22) 10139-10148 (2006)

A liquid crystal atmospheric turbulence simulator

Lifa Hu, Li Xuan, Zhaoliang Cao, Quanquan Mu, Dayu Li, and Yonggang Liu
Opt. Express 14(25) 11911-11918 (2006)

Characterization of atmospheric turbulence phase statistics using wave-front slope measurements

Eric E. Silbaugh, Byron M. Welsh, and Michael C. Roggemann
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 13(12) 2453-2460 (1996)

Use of a 4-aperture DIMM instrument for atmospheric coherence time estimation: an analytical development

M. Panahi, R. Shomali, and M. Mollabashi
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 36(4) 655-664 (2019)