Study on the Scintillation for Optical Wave Propagation in the Slant Path Through the Atmospheric Turbulence

Based on the theory of optical wave propagation in the slant path and the ITU-R turbulence structure constant model which is altitude dependent, the modified Rytov method, which is applicable to the optical wave propagation in the horizontal path, is extended to the propagation in the slant path. According to the spectrum model with non-zero inner scale, the scintillation index as a function of the Rytov variance is obtained from weak to strong fluctuation regions with plane wave and sphere wave incidence, respectively. Finally, the scintillation index with different zenith angles is analyzed, and comparison between the results of the modified method and experimental measurements is given and discussed in detail.