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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
Quasi-light Storage for Optical Data Packets
Published on: February 6, 2014
High-sensitivity DPSK receiver for high-bandwidth free-space optical communication links
Juan C Juarez1, David W Young, Joseph E Sluz
1The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Rd, Laurel, MD 20723, USA. Juan.Juarez@jhuapl.edu
Abstract:
A high-sensitivity modem and high-dynamic range optical automatic gain controller (OAGC) have been developed to provide maximum link margin and to overcome the dynamic nature of free-space optical links. A sensitivity of -48.9 dBm (10 photons per bit) at 10 Gbps was achieved employing a return-to-zero differential phase shift keying based modem and a commercial Reed-Solomon forward error correction system. Low-noise optical gain was provided by an OAGC with a noise figure of 4.1 dB (including system required input loses) and a dynamic range of greater than 60 dB.
