A quarter century of research into deep space and near Earth optical communications This book captures a quarter century of research and development in deep space optical communications from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Additionally, it presents findings from other optical communications research groups from around the world for a full perspective. Readers are brought up to date with the latest developments in optical communications technology, as well as the state of the art in component and subsystem technologies, fundamental limitations, and approaches to develop and fully exploit new technologies. The book explores the unique requirements and technologies for deep space optical communications, including: * Technology overview; link and system design drivers * Atmospheric transmission, propagation, and reception issues * Flight and ground terminal architecture and subsystems * Future prospects and applications, including navigational tracking and light science This is the first book to specifically address deep space optical communications. With an increasing demand for data from planetary spacecraft and other sources, it is essential reading for all optical communications, telecommunications, and system engineers, as well as technical managers in the aerospace industry. It is also recommended for graduate students interested in deep space communications.

This book provides an in-depth understanding of free space optical (FSO) communication with a particular emphasis on optical beam propagation through atmospheric turbulence. The book is structured in such a way that it provides a basic framework for the beginners and also gives a concise description from a designer’s perspective. The book provides an exposure to FSO technology, fundamental limitations, design methodologies, system trade-offs, acquisition, tracking and pointing (ATP) techniques and link-feasibility analysis. The contents of this book will be of interest to professionals and researchers alike. The book may also be used as a textbook for engineering coursework and professional training.

This is a comprehensive tutorial on the emerging technology of free-space laser communications (FSLC). The book offers an all-inclusive source of information on the basics of FSLC, and a review of state-of-the-art technologies. Coverage includes atmospheric effects for laser propagation and FSLC systems performance and design. Free-Space Laser Communications is a valuable resource for engineers, scientists and students interested in laser communication systems designed for the atmospheric optical channel.

This handbook is an authoritative, comprehensive reference on optical networks, the backbone of today’s communication and information society. The book reviews the many underlying technologies that enable the global optical communications infrastructure, but also explains current research trends targeted towards continued capacity scaling and enhanced networking flexibility in support of an unabated traffic growth fueled by ever-emerging new applications. The book is divided into four parts: Optical Subsystems for Transmission and Switching, Core Networks, Datacenter and Super-Computer Networking, and Optical Access and Wireless Networks. Each chapter is written by world-renown experts that represent academia, industry, and international government and regulatory agencies. Every chapter provides a complete picture of its field, from entry-level information to a snapshot of the respective state-of-the-art technologies to emerging research trends, providing something useful for the novice who wants to get familiar with the field to the expert who wants to get a concise view of future trends.

Optical links are now to be found in short-haul industrial routes, as well as in long-haul telecommunications routes. In order to design and maintain these links, it is important to understand the operation of the individual system components, and this book provides the relevant information.

Annotation First book on Free Space Optics (FSO) in the marketplace. Comprehensive book that covers fundamentals through benefits and deployment pit falls. First comprehensive book about FSO, written by two experts in the field. Explores FSO as an alternative to cable and fiber as last-mile solutions. Enables readers to maximize the benefits of FSO and anticipate potential deployment pitfalls. Free Space Optics begins with the fundamentals of the technology before launching into FSO topologies, deployment issues, applications, and case studies. Baksheesh Ghuman is Vice President of Marketing at LightPointe Communications, Inc. Ghuman has worked in optical and telecommunications for over 12 years, focusing on marketing, product development, and applications engineering. He holds a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management from Golden State University, San Franscisco. Dr. Heinz Willebrand is Chief Technology Officer of LightPointe Communications where he leads all of LightPointe's R&D activities in the field of free space wireless RF and high-speed optical laser communication systems. Prior to LightPointe, Dr. Willebrand was a research professor at the University of Boulder, Colorado, where he taught classes on fiber optic and wireless technologies and researched areas such as fiber optics and high-speed computer interconnections.

This title provides a comprehensive, unified tutorial covering the most recent advances in the emerging technology of free-space optics (FSO), a field in which interest and attention continue to grow along with the number of new challenges. This book is intended as an all-inclusive source to serve the needs of those who require information about the fundamentals of FSO, as well as up-to-date advanced knowledge of the state-of-the-art in the technologies available today. This text is intended for graduate students, and will also be useful for research scientists and engineers with an interest in the field. FSO communication is a practical solution for creating a three dimensional global broadband communications grid, offering bandwidths far beyond what is possible in the Radio Frequency (RF) range. However, the attributes of atmospheric turbulence and scattering impose perennial limitations on availability and reliability of FSO links. From a systems point-of-view, this groundbreaking book provides a thorough understanding of channel behavior, which can be used to design and evaluate optimum transmission techniques that operate under realistic atmospheric conditions. Topics addressed include: • FSO Physical and Statistical Models: Single/Multiple Inputs/Outputs • Understanding FSO: Theory and Systems Analysis • Modulation and Coding for Free-Space Optical Channels • Atmospheric Mitigation and Compensation for FSO Links • Non-line-of-sight (NLOS) Ultraviolet and Indoor FSO Communications • FSO Platforms: UAV and Mobile • Retromodulators for Free Space Data links • Hybrid Optical RF Communications • Free-space and Atmospheric Quantum Communications • Other related topics: Chaos-based and Terahertz (THz) FSO Communications

This book provides a comprehensive description of an optical communications technology known as free space optical—a next-generation communications network that uses optical signals through the atmosphere instead of fiber, RF, or microwaves. This technology potentially offers more complex ultrabandwidth communication services simultaneously to multiple users and in a very short time, compared to fiber optic technology. This text presents established and new advancements drawn from the latest research and development in components, networking, operation, and practices. This book describes the FSO network concepts in simple language. It provides comprehensive coverage in an easy-to-understand, progressive style that starts from the physics of the atmosphere and how it affects optical communications; continues with the design of a network node; and concludes with fiberless network applications from point-to-point to mesh topology. Important areas discussed include: Propagation of light in the atmosphere and phenomena that affect light propagation FSO transceiver design Point-to-point FSO systems Ring FSO systems Mesh-FSO systems and integrating the Mesh-FSO with the public network WDM Mesh-FSO FSO network security FSO-specific applications To meet the needs of both academia and industry, key mathematical formulas are presented along with descriptions, while extensive mathematical analyses are minimized or avoided. Free Space Optical Networks for Ultra-Broad Band Services serves as an ideal text for network communication professionals who enter the free space optical communication field, graduate students majoring in optical communications, optical communication engineers, researchers, managers, and consultants.

This groundbreaking resource is the first book to offer you a thorough, practical treatment of laser space communications. The book focuses on the feasibility of laser space communication links between satellites, satellites and airborne platforms, and satellites and ground based stations to achieve worldwide connectivity. You get expert guidance on weather avoidance approaches and adaptive antenna subsystems that help mitigate the effects of turbulence. The book presents simplified, yet highly accurate, engineering expressions of complex mathematics of turbulence that provide you with numerical values in the links' signal power budget. Moreover, you find an entire chapter devoted to noise photons and their effect on the bit error rate. This comprehensive volume covers a wide range of critical topics you need to understand for your work in the field, from a discussion on laser vs. RF communications in space, basic design features of a laser transceiver, and configuration of inter-satellite communication links, to selection of ground station locations, 5th Generation Internet (5-GENIN), and signal modulation schemes. The book is supported with over 70 illustrations and more than 100 equations.