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Optimization of a laser satellite communication system with an optical preamplifier
1Satellite and Wireless Communication Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, IL-84105, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Summary
Optimizing laser satellite communication, this study finds an optimal transceiver gain minimizes power despite pointing jitter. Amplifier noise impacts required power but not optimal gain.
Area of Science:
- Optical Engineering
- Satellite Communications
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Laser satellite communication links face performance degradation due to random line-of-sight jitter.
- Integrated transceivers using a single telescope reduce terminal size and weight.
- Amplifier spontaneous-emission noise is a critical factor in optical communication system performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an optimization model for laser satellite communication link performance.
- To determine the optimal transceiver gain that minimizes transmitted power under random jitter.
- To analyze the impact of amplifier spontaneous-emission noise on optimal system parameters.
Main Methods:
- Derivation of a mathematical model for transceiver performance optimization.
- Analysis of system performance considering random pointing jitter and amplifier noise.
- Numerical simulations to evaluate the effect of amplifier gain and noise figure.
Main Results:
- An optimal transceiver gain exists that minimizes transmitted power for a given bit-error rate (BER) and pointing jitter.
- The amplifier noise figure dictates the optimal transmitted power but not the optimal transceiver gain.
- A doubling of amplifier noise figure increases minimal transmitted power by 80% for a BER of 10(-9) and 0.44 microrad jitter.
Conclusions:
- The derived model provides a method to optimize laser satellite communication systems.
- System design must account for amplifier noise to minimize power requirements.
- Optimal transceiver gain is robust to variations in amplifier noise figure, simplifying system design.