This thesis addresses two problems. The first is the performance of non-mechanical beam steering devices based on diffractive optics, and the second is the problem of the scattering of light by turbulence. Two beam steering devices namely holographic optical elements and optical phased arrays are analyzed. Of particular interest are the wavelength selectivity of the uniform volume holographic grating and the impact of dispersion on the spatial and temporal fidelity of an optically transmitted communication signal through both beamsteering devices. Longitudinal refractive index modulation (apodization) in photosensitive glass is used to improve sidelobe. Theoretical methods are developed to model both devices. For uniform grating, it is shown that the temporal dispersion due to the diffraction increase with beam diameter yielding a higher power penalty for large diffraction angles and aperture sizes. For an optical phased array, it is shown the power penalty increase as the diffraction angles and diameters increase. In addition, the scattering of light in turbulent medium is investigated. Of particular interest is to determine region of validity of the Born approximation which is used to compute the scattering field. Padé approximants are used to analyze the propagation through a media having strong turbulent intensity. It is shown that the region of convergence of Born approximation increases as the outer scale of the turbulence decreases. In the case of the strong turbulence, the Born approximation does not capture the correct angular distribution of the scattering intensity.