Atmospheric limitations on the performance of electro-optical systems: A brief overview

Atmospheric effects limit the performance of any electro-optical (EO) system. Tasks such as laser communications or horizontal-path imaging for long-range surveillance are highly affected by environmental effects. In the majority of cases, effects like turbulence impose a fundamental limitation to the capability of EO systems. In this paper, we give an overview of the limiting factors and we will show possibilities for restoration of images degraded by atmosphere.