A Review of Mechanical Fine-Pointing Actuators for Free-Space Optical Communication

Milaševičius, Martynas; Mačiulis, Laurynas

doi:10.3390/aerospace11010005

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…With the growing applications of steering mirrors, the market has seen the introduction of a diverse range of commercial products [12]. These solutions are available in a selection of actuator categories, including from electrostatic MEMS actuators, magnetic voice coils and piezo-stack micro-displacement amplifiers [13][14][15].…”

Section: Steering Mirror Design and Trade-offsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steering Mirror System with Closed-Loop Feedback for Free-Space Optical Communication Terminals

Graham,

Bramall,

Younus

et al. 2024

Aerospace

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Precision beam pointing plays a critical role in free-space optical communications terminals in uplink, downlink and inter-satellite link scenarios. Among the various methods of beam steering, the use of fast steering mirrors (FSM) is widely adopted, with many commercial solutions employing diverse technologies, particularly focusing on small, high-bandwidth mirrors. This paper introduces a method using lightweight, commercial off-the-shelf components to construct a custom closed-loop steering mirror platform, suitable for mirror apertures exceeding 100 mm. The approach involves integrating optical encoders into two off-the-shelf open-loop actuators. These encoders read the signal reflected on purposefully diamond-machined knurled screw knobs, providing maximum contrast between light and dark lines. The resulting steering mirror has the potential to complement or replace FSM in applications requiring a larger stroke, at the expense of motion speed. In the presented setup, the mirror tilt resolution achieved based on the encoder closed-loop signal feedback is 45 μrad, with a mean slew rate of 1.5 mrad/s. Importantly, the steering assembly is self-locking, requiring no power to maintain a steady pointing angle. Using the mirror to actively correct for a constantly moving incoming beam, a 5-fold increase in concentration of the beam spot on the center of the detector was obtained compared to a fixed position mirror, demonstrating the mirrors ability to correct for satellite platform jitter and drift.

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Section: Steering Mirror Design and Trade-offsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steering Mirror System with Closed-Loop Feedback for Free-Space Optical Communication Terminals

Graham,

Bramall,

Younus

et al. 2024

Aerospace

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“…Although this system has a simple structure, the accuracy of a single-branched chain directly impacts the overall performance, necessitating the sacrifice of motion stroke (only a few tens of micrometers) to achieve high-precision single-branched chains [10][11][12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Testing of a Compliant ZTTΘ Positional Adjustment System with Hybrid Amplification

Liao,

Lin,

Tang

et al. 2024

Micromachines

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This article presents the design, analysis, and prototype testing of a four-degrees-of-freedom (4-DoFs) spatial pose adjustment system (SPAS) that achieves high-precision positioning with 4-DoFs (Z/Tip/Tilt/Θ). The system employs a piezoelectric-driven amplification mechanism that combines a bridge lever hybrid amplification mechanism, a double four-bar guide mechanism, and a multi-level lever symmetric rotation mechanism. By integrating these mechanisms, the system achieves low coupling, high stiffness, and wide stroke range. Analytical modeling and finite element analysis are employed to optimize geometric parameters. A prototype is fabricated, and its performance is verified through testing. The results indicate that the Z-direction feed microstroke is 327.37 μm, the yaw motion angle around the X and Y axes is 3.462 mrad, and the rotation motion angle around the Z axis is 12.684 mrad. The x-axis and y-axis motion magnification ratio can reach 7.43. Closed-loop decoupling control experiments for multiple-input-multiple-outputs (MIMO) systems using inverse kinematics and proportional-integral-derivative feedback controllers were conducted. The results show that the Z-direction positioning accuracy is ±100 nm, the X and Y axis yaw motion accuracy is ±2 μrad, and the Z-axis rotation accuracy is ±25 μrad. Due to the ZTTΘ mechanism, the design proved to be feasible and advantageous, demonstrating its potential for precision machining and micro-nano manipulation.

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Dynamic beam steering for wireless optical power transfer in IoT applications

Nguyen,

Nadeem

et al. 2024

Opt. Lett.

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The alignment of a receiver with a pencil beam in a wireless optical power transfer (WOPT) system employing a resonance beam charging (RBC) technology limits the establishment of a resonance cavity. Accurate tracking necessitates precise and dependable monitoring, which requires the exact placement of transmitting and receiving devices. Herein, we present a concept of a two-dimensional (2D) beam steering mechanism for RBC-based WOPT systems utilizing dispersed laser beams. The proposed approach allows a significant improvement, including reduction of scanning times and minimization of errors, in relation to conventional pencil-beam-based systems. Experimental results reveal 14% faster acquisition time efficiency, an 18% improvement in pointing accuracy, and a 24% enhancement in tracking accuracy. These results establish the prerequisites for the implementation of dispersed beam steering in the RBC-based WOPT system. This capability empowers the system to charge movable devices and Internet of Things devices consistently in smart factories.

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A Review of Mechanical Fine-Pointing Actuators for Free-Space Optical Communication

Cited by 3 publications

References 70 publications

Steering Mirror System with Closed-Loop Feedback for Free-Space Optical Communication Terminals

Steering Mirror System with Closed-Loop Feedback for Free-Space Optical Communication Terminals

Design and Testing of a Compliant ZTTΘ Positional Adjustment System with Hybrid Amplification

Dynamic beam steering for wireless optical power transfer in IoT applications

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