10 Gb/s optical heterodyne receiver for intersatellite communications links

Christoph Wree; Don Becker; Dan Mohr; Abhay Joshi

doi:10.1117/12.732593

25 September 2007 10 Gb/s optical heterodyne receiver for intersatellite communications links

Christoph Wree, Don Becker, Dan Mohr, Abhay Joshi

Proceedings Volume 6709, Free-Space Laser Communications VII; 67090U (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.732593
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We present an optical heterodyne receiver for data rates up to 10 Gb/s. Its outer dimensions are 44x44x18 cm³, it weighs 16.5 kg and consumes 70 W of power. This optical receiver is single-mode fiber coupled to distribute the received signal from the outside of the spacecraft to the inside. This approach improves the ruggedness of the receiver system against shocks and vibrations. Under an ESA funded project, the photodiodes of this receiver have passed space qualification tests, such as Particle Impact Noise Detection tests, shock and vibration survivability, as well as proton and gamma radiation exposure. High receiver sensitivities (BER=1·10^-9) of 390 photons/bit and 619 photons/bit were measured at 1550 nm for differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) and on/off keying (OOK), respectively. No low noise optical preamplifier (EDFA) was used in this case. These are one of the highest sensitivities reported for heterodyne detection of 10 Gb/s signals without using optical amplification. Avoiding the use of an EDFA allows to adapt the coherent receiver to other wavelengths such as 1064 nm. We also investigated the receiver sensitivity of the coherent receiver when combined with a low noise optical preamplifier. For 10 Gb/s DPSK and OOK sensitivities of 74 photons/bit and 132 photons/bit were measured, respectively.

Citation Download Citation

Christoph Wree, Don Becker, Dan Mohr, and Abhay Joshi "10 Gb/s optical heterodyne receiver for intersatellite communications links", Proc. SPIE 6709, Free-Space Laser Communications VII, 67090U (25 September 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.732593

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available