A novel receiver and transmitter that utilize fiber bundles are under development to address the challenges associated with acquiring and maintaining a free-space optical link between mobile platforms in the presence of vibration and atmospheric turbulence. The fiber bundles allow for greater misalignment tolerance at the receiver and greater control over the spatial area covered by the transmitted beam upon reaching the receiver. This paper reports on a simulation-based investigation of design choices that optimize the performance of the system under several operating scenarios. The simulation incorporates prior experimental data into the theoretical calculations for optical propagation to better describe the performance of the physical designs. For a given link length and available power, the coverage area and collected power are controlled by the pattern of transmitters, beam divergence, and the receiver construction. The investigation finds that the coverage area of the receiver can be optimized for a given link length by proper choices of these parameters, and that similar parameters may provide near optimal performance at other wavelengths. Trade-offs between choices of the key parameters are explored as a function of link length. The results provide guidance on the further development of the overall system.

Date Published: 5 May 2012
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 8380, Atmospheric Propagation IX, 838006 (5 May 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.919423

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8380:
Atmospheric Propagation IX
Linda M. Wasiczko Thomas; Earl J. Spillar, Editor(s)