Testing of a photon-counting optical ground receiver with emulated space-to-ground link effects

Michael A. Marsden; Jennifer N. Downey; Sarah A. Tedder; Brian E. Vyhnalek

doi:10.1117/12.3002471

12 March 2024 Testing of a photon-counting optical ground receiver with emulated space-to-ground link effects

Michael A. Marsden, Jennifer N. Downey, Sarah A. Tedder, Brian E. Vyhnalek

Proceedings Volume 12877, Free-Space Laser Communications XXXVI; 128770Y (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3002471
Event: SPIE LASE, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Glenn Research Center (GRC) developed and previously characterized a photon-counting optical ground receiver system. The receiver is compliant with the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Optical Communications Coding and Synchronization High Photon Efficiency (HPE) Standard. The standard will be used on the Optical Artemis-2 Orion (O2O) communications demonstration and the Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) project aboard the Psyche spacecraft. The receiver system consists of a fiber interconnect, up to sixteen Superconducting Nanowire Single-Photon Detectors (SNSPDs), and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based receive modem. Previously, the receiver system architecture was described and test results without emulated link effects were presented. SNSPD device properties, which impact detection jitter and time delay, can limit the receiver dynamic range, especially when operating with varying flux rates (⪆10 dB) between detectors. Codeword error-rate curves with and without simulated clock drifts attributed to Doppler shift and space transmitter clock differences are presented. Results with ±66 ppm clock differences show minimal performance impact (⪅0.2 dB). Test results show that the receiver dynamic range (⪆28 dB) is limited by changing SNSPD detection delays at high photon flux rates.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Michael A. Marsden, Jennifer N. Downey, Sarah A. Tedder, and Brian E. Vyhnalek "Testing of a photon-counting optical ground receiver with emulated space-to-ground link effects", Proc. SPIE 12877, Free-Space Laser Communications XXXVI, 128770Y (12 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3002471

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