The effect of beam quality factor for the laser beam propagation through turbulence

Beam quality factor is an important parameter for evaluating the laser beam when the beam propagates through turbulence. In this paper, analytical expressions of lowest-Gaussian beam, Hermite-Gaussian beam and Laguerre-Gaussian beam propagating in free space are derived. The relationship between the beam quality factor and the peak intensity at the target is discussed. Besides, the influences induced by other parameters like beam width and propagation distance are also analyzed in detail. It can be concluded that with the increase of the turbulence strength, the beam quality factor loses its place of domination in beam propagation. Finally, a simulation of six laser beams combining is carried out. The result shows that the selection of the light source's beam quality can be extended for the applications under the atmospheric turbulence.