Conceptual design of the adaptive optics system for the laser communication relay demonstration ground station at Table Mountain

Lewis C. Roberts Jr.; Norman A. Page; Rick S. Burruss; Tuan N. Truong; Sharon Dew; Mitchell Troy

doi:10.1117/12.2008981

19 March 2013 Conceptual design of the adaptive optics system for the laser communication relay demonstration ground station at Table Mountain

Lewis C. Roberts Jr., Norman A. Page, Rick S. Burruss, Tuan N. Truong, Sharon Dew, Mitchell Troy

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8610, Free-Space Laser Communication and Atmospheric Propagation XXV; 86100N (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2008981
Event: SPIE LASE, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The Laser Communication Relay Demonstration will feature a geostationary satellite communicating via optical links to multiple ground stations. The first ground station (GS-1) is the 1m OCTL telescope at Table Mountain in California. The optical link will utilize pulse position modulation (PPM) and differential phase shift keying (DPSK) protocols. The DPSK link necessitates that adaptive optics (AO) be used to relay the incoming beam into the single mode fiber that is the input of the modem. The GS-1 AO system will have two MEMS Deformable mirrors to achieve the needed actuator density and stroke limit. The AO system will sense the aberrations with a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor using the light from the communication link’s 1.55 μm laser to close the loop. The system will operate day and night. The system’s software will be based on heritage software from the Palm 3000 AO system, reducing risk and cost. The AO system is being designed to work at r0 greater than 3.3 cm (measured at 500 nm and zenith) and at elevations greater than 20° above the horizon. In our worst case operating conditions we expect to achieve Strehl ratios of over 70% (at 1.55 μm), which should couple 57% of the light into the single mode DPSK fiber. This paper describes the conceptual design of the AO system, predicted performance and discusses some of the trades that were conducted during the design process.

Citation Download Citation

Lewis C. Roberts Jr., Norman A. Page, Rick S. Burruss, Tuan N. Truong, Sharon Dew, and Mitchell Troy "Conceptual design of the adaptive optics system for the laser communication relay demonstration ground station at Table Mountain", Proc. SPIE 8610, Free-Space Laser Communication and Atmospheric Propagation XXV, 86100N (19 March 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2008981

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