Adaptive Optics for Free-Space Optical Communications

Free-space optical communications (FSOC), using light to transmit data signals, can provide higher-bandwidth and more secure links than traditional radio communications. However, the Earth's turbulent atmosphere causes the optical beam to wander and break into speckles introducing errors and reducing the bandwidth. These artefacts can be corrected by Adaptive Optics (AO) systems. AO is a mature technology and is a regular used in many fields including astronomy and microscopy, however it has yet to be fully transferred to satellite FSOC systems. One issue is that the system must work during the daytime and at low elevation angles to maximise the links with orbiting satellites. These additional complexities exacerbate the effect of the turbulence. In this project we will assess the effect of strong turbulence on AO and FSOC links and develop new AO algorithms to increase the AO operational window into these less favourable conditions.