Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication
Free-space optical communication attracts interest due to its promise of higher data rates for similar size, weight, and power costs compared with radio systems. However, while satellite-to-ground optical communication has been tested from low Earth orbit and the Moon, intersatellite optical links a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Utah State University
2017
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112329 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0615-2323 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-5124 |
| _version_ | 1826200221875437568 |
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| author | Clark, James R. Cahoy, Kerri |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Clark, James R. Cahoy, Kerri |
| author_sort | Clark, James R. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Free-space optical communication attracts interest due to its promise of higher data rates for similar size, weight, and power costs compared with radio systems. However, while satellite-to-ground optical communication has been tested from low Earth orbit and the Moon, intersatellite optical links are still an area of active research and development. Second-harmonic generation (SHG, or “frequency doubling”) with nonlinear optics may improve the link margins of laser systems that serve as crosslinks as well as downlinks. For example, the output of a 1550 nm laser could be doubled to 775 nm on command, allowing the satellite to use whichever wavelength is advantageous (e.g. improved detector and propagation properties), without spending the mass budget for an entire second laser system. Link-budget analysis suggests that a nanosatellite crosslink can gain 3-4 dB of link margin with a frequency-doubler. This improvement is largely driven by the reduction in beamwidth that comes with the higher frequency. It is not substantially greater than the improvement that comes with using the same narrower beamwidth at 1550 nm. However, SHG would allow a diffraction-limited system to use different beamwidths for beacon acquisition and communication without any moving parts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:33:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/112329 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T11:33:05Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Utah State University |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1123292022-10-01T04:23:53Z Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication Clark, James R. Cahoy, Kerri Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Clark, Jim Clark, James R. Cahoy, Kerri Free-space optical communication attracts interest due to its promise of higher data rates for similar size, weight, and power costs compared with radio systems. However, while satellite-to-ground optical communication has been tested from low Earth orbit and the Moon, intersatellite optical links are still an area of active research and development. Second-harmonic generation (SHG, or “frequency doubling”) with nonlinear optics may improve the link margins of laser systems that serve as crosslinks as well as downlinks. For example, the output of a 1550 nm laser could be doubled to 775 nm on command, allowing the satellite to use whichever wavelength is advantageous (e.g. improved detector and propagation properties), without spending the mass budget for an entire second laser system. Link-budget analysis suggests that a nanosatellite crosslink can gain 3-4 dB of link margin with a frequency-doubler. This improvement is largely driven by the reduction in beamwidth that comes with the higher frequency. It is not substantially greater than the improvement that comes with using the same narrower beamwidth at 1550 nm. However, SHG would allow a diffraction-limited system to use different beamwidths for beacon acquisition and communication without any moving parts. 2017-12-01T14:11:14Z 2017-12-01T14:11:14Z 2016-08 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112329 Clark, Jim and Cahoy, Kerri. "Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication." Proceedings of the AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, Technical Session VIII: Frank J. Redd Student Competition, SSC16-VIII-5. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/smallsat/2016/TS8StudentComp/5/ © 2016 The Author(s) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0615-2323 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-5124 en_US https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/smallsat/2016/TS8StudentComp/5/ Proceedings of the AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Utah State University Clark |
| spellingShingle | Clark, James R. Cahoy, Kerri Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication |
| title | Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication |
| title_full | Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication |
| title_fullStr | Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication |
| title_short | Nonlinear Optics for Frequency-Doubling in Nanosatellite Laser Communication |
| title_sort | nonlinear optics for frequency doubling in nanosatellite laser communication |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112329 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0615-2323 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-5124 |
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