Wave-optics comparisons to a scaling-law formulation

This study investigates the use of a recently published generalized scaling law [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 33(12), 2477-2484 (2016)]. In practice, the generalized scaling law accurately predicts the diffraction-limited peak irradiance in the far-field given the beam power, wavelength, propagation distance, field-effective area, and field-out-coupling factor. After reviewing this scaling-law formulation, we compare the far-zone predictions for peak irradiance and Gaussian beam spread to wave-optics simulations. Overall, the results show that this scaling-law formulation does not predict the correct peak irradiance, nor the correct Gaussian beam spread for horizontal-path scenarios with varying levels of atmospheric turbulence.