Impact of the boundary layer on pointing and tracking in airborne free-space laser communication links
Name
310357123-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
7.03 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
d5e54ccc4b8ceb9d0e76e12a4d82daba
Author(s)
Conrad, Ross Aaron
Advisor(s)
John J. Deyst and Jeffrey M. Roth.
Date Issued
2008
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Free-space laser communication is a developing technology with enormous potential to revolutionize the way people communicate across the globe. Of specific interest are air-to-space lasercom links. Such a link experiences atmospheric scintillation, platform jitter, and boundary layer turbulence. This research investigated the tracking challenge using a focal plane array sensor with centroid and peak tracking algorithms. Also investigated was the use of a deformable mirror to recreate optical phase distortions from boundary layer turbulence. Experiments were conducted with realistic channel effects for multiple look angles between a subsonic aircraft at 29 kft and geosynchronous satellite. Performance was determined by power delivered to an optical fiber. The results show that the two tracking algorithms can differ by up to one decibel of fiber power, with centroid tracking generally performing best. Conclusions are highly dependent on aircraft and spacecraft parameters but point towards centroid tracking for maximizing received power. Keywords: Lasercom, FPA Tracking, Boundary Layer Disturbances, Deformable Mirror.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2008.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Includes vita.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-118).
Subjects
Aeronautics and Astronautics.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
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copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
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