Anisoplanatism in airborne laser communication

Airborne laser-communication systems require special considerations in size, complexity, power, and weight. We reduce the variability of the received signal by implementing optimized multiple-transmitter systems to average out the deleterious effects of turbulence. We derive the angular laser-beam separation for various isoplanatic and uncorrelated (anisoplanatic) conditions for the phase and amplitude effects. In most cases and geometries, the angles ordered from largest to smallest are: phase uncorrelated angle (equivalent to the tilt uncorrelated angle), tilt isoplanatic angle, phase isoplanatic angle, scintillation uncorrelated angle, and scintillation correlation angle (phi(Psi ind) > phi(TA) > phi(0) > phi(xind) > phi(xc)). Multiple beams with angular separations beyond phi(xc) tend to reduce scintillation variations. Larger separations such as phi(TA) reduce higher-order phase and scintillation variations and still larger separations beyond phi Psi(ind) tend to reduce the higher and lower-order (e. g. tilt) phase and scintillation effects. Simulations show two-transmitter systems reduce bit error rates for ground-to-air, air-to-air, and ground-to-ground scenarios. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.