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Reduction of scintillation in optical modulating retro-reflector links
Optics Express
|November 18, 2014
Summary
Optical modulating retro-reflectors offer efficient free-space optical links. Techniques like retro-reflector diversity significantly reduce atmospheric scintillation, improving link performance by 20 dB.
Area of Science:
- Optical engineering
- Free-space optical communication
Background:
- Free-space optical links using optical modulating retro-reflectors reduce pointing requirements and eliminate the need for a laser at one terminal.
- These links suffer from high optical scintillation due to atmospheric beam distortion, leading to packet errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate methods for significantly reducing optical scintillation in free-space optical links.
- To enhance the reliability and performance of optical modulating retro-reflector systems.
Main Methods:
- Implementing retro-reflector diversity.
- Utilizing aperture averaging.
- Employing bistatic optical interrogation.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated a substantial reduction in optical scintillation.
- Achieved improvements of 20 dB in overall link performance.
- Mitigated packet errors caused by signal fades and surges.
Conclusions:
- A combination of retro-reflector diversity, aperture averaging, and bistatic optical interrogation effectively combats scintillation.
- These techniques significantly enhance the robustness and practicality of free-space optical links for reliable data transmission.
