LIDAR systems operating in a non-Kolmogorov turbulent atmosphere

It is well known that in free atmosphere the Kolmogorov power spectrum of the refractive index might not properly describe the actual turbulence behavior. In this paper, we use general non-Kolmogorov power spectrum for theoretical investigation of laser beam propagation in the double-passage problem: transmitter–target–receiver. The major application of our work is the Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) system operating at high altitudes, where non-Kolmogorov turbulence may be present. On confining ourselves to the weak turbulence regime, we show that the long-term average beam intensity profile, the long-term beam spread and the scintillation index are substantially affected by the non-Kolmogorov turbulent channels. Our analysis is valid for both bi-static and mono-static configurations, the latter leading to the enhanced backscattering effects