Invention:
This technology is a method and system to improve the speed of free-space optical communications. The technology uses a novel beam scanning technique to reduce the time needed for two optical communications terminals (OCTs) to locate each other and establish communications in linear time. This enables time-synchronized optical communications with minimal feedback as quickly as possible. The system can quickly reacquire broken links and can track a target OCT while a link is established.
Background:
Free-space optical communications systems use the propagation of light through a free space (such as the atmosphere, outer space, etc.) to transmit information. For two free space optical communication terminals to communicate with one another, they must first locate one another and initiate communications. Currently, laser scanning-based acquisition systems tend to use GPS clocks or real-time clock (RTC) chips to scan communication lasers in a time-synchronized fashion. This method is effective in establishing a communication link with minimal feedback but establishes links in quadratic time. This new method uses a novel scanning approach to significantly increase acquisition speed, enabling two time-synchronized OCTs to find each other in linear time.
Applications:
- Free-space optical communications
- Space exploration
- Telecommunications
Advantages:
- Faster
- Shorter acquisition time
- Novel technique
- Minimal feedback
- Can reacquire broken links
- Ability to track a target OCT while a link is established
