Digital equalization of time-delay array receivers on coherent laser communications.

Area of Science:

• Optical Engineering
• Telecommunications

Background:

• Coherent laser communication links suffer performance degradation due to atmospheric turbulence.
• Field conjugation arrays offer a solution but require complex receivers for adaptive processing, co-phasing, and scaling of optical signals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a simpler and more versatile method for mitigating atmospheric turbulence in coherent laser communication.
• To demonstrate the effectiveness of digital equalization in multi-aperture receivers for diversity gain.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing multiple apertures coupled with optical delay lines to combine retarded signal versions.
• Employing digital equalization at a single coherent receiver to process combined signals.

Main Results:

• The proposed time-delay multi-aperture receiver with digital equalization achieves diversity gain against atmospheric fading.
• This approach simplifies receiver complexity compared to traditional field conjugation arrays.

Conclusions:

• Digital equalization of time-delay multi-aperture receivers presents a more straightforward and adaptable solution for reducing atmospheric fading in laser communication.
• This method offers a promising alternative for enhancing the robustness of optical communication systems.