Photon-noise-limited performance for a hybrid wavefront sensor operating in strong turbulence

Adaptive optics (AO) systems on airborne platforms must be able to sense fields degraded by strong turbulence often over long horizontal propagation paths. This paper presents results of simulated hybrid-wavefront-sensor performance when measuring optical fields due to propagation of a distant point source through Kolmogorov turbulence. The hybrid-wavefront-sensor simulation combines Shack-Hartmann and self-referencing-interferometer (SRI) measurements degraded by photon noise and produces higher-resolution wavefront estimates that are less susceptible to noise than either sensor acting alone and that inherit the SRI's insensitivity to scintillation.