For the ESA Semiconductor Intersatellite Link Experiment (SILEX), elements of the communication chain have been breadboarded. The electrooptical converter, called the laser diode transmitter package (LDTP), is described here. The requirements on the LDTP optical quality are deduced from the overall system requirements. The tolerable wavefront errors (WFE) and the stability of beam direction are most critical. Four breadboards have been assembled and tested. The very stringent requirements on WFE were surpassed, with a resulting rms value of 1/40 waves. In order to achieve this wavefront quality, the typical astigmatism of index-guided laser diodes (1-10 microns) had to be compensated by adjustable cylindrical lenses.

Date Published: 1 July 1990
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 1218, Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies II, (1 July 1990); doi: 10.1117/12.18235

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 1218:
Free-Space Laser Communication Technologies II
David L. Begley; Bernard D. Seery, Editor(s)