Wavefront Aberration Characterization and Correction for Laser Beam Propagating over Saline Water and Sands

Wireless laser communication is a promising method for communication in marine environment. However, as laser beam propagates through atmosphere, both wavefront and intensity of the laser beam can be influenced by the atmospheric turbulence. In this paper, wavefront aberration in the laser beam is characterized and corrected by an adaptive optics system while the laser propagates over saline water in a lab environment. Experiments have also been carried out when the laser beam propagates over sands for a comparison. With the correction by the closed-loop adaptive optics system, the variance of spots displacement in the Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor has been reduced by 28% for saline water and 10% for sands.