Enhanced optical pulse broadening in free-space optical links due to the radiative effects of atmospheric aerosols

Propagation through turbulent media produces complex amplitude fluctuations and temporal spreading of narrow optical pulses. Light-absorbing aerosols present in the atmospheric transmission path will perturb the refractive index structure parameter (C-n(2)) through atmospheric heating. The consequent enhancement in broadening and attenuation of ultrashort (femtosecond) optical pulses has been calculated by combining multi-satellite observations, radiosonde profiles and computational radiative transfer. It is shown that narrower optical pulses are more vulnerable to aerosol-induced impairments while broader pulses are more resilient, notwithstanding three to four orders of enhanced optical scintillation. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement