Demonstration of a free-space optical communication system using a solar-pumped laser as signal transmitter

Abstract

A free-space optical communication system with a sun light directly pumped laser as the signal transmitter was demonstrated. A 0.6 × 0.6 m Fresnel lens was used as the primary concentrator to collect the solar light. 6.8 W continuous wave laser power was obtained from a 4 mm diameter grooved Nd:YAG rod. The output intensity was modulated with a video signal via a LiNbO 3 Mach-Zehnder optoelectronic modulator. The video signal with a resolution of 1920 * 1080/frame and the frame rate of 25 Hz was transmitted over five-meter free-space in real time with high fidelity. The transmission rate was 125 Mbps and bit error rate was lower than 10 −6 . This research shows the feasibility of applying a solar light directly pumped laser for free-space optical communication, which is significant for telecommunications between satellites.

Simultaneous solar laser emissions from three Nd:YAG rods within a single pump cavity

“…The direct excitation of renewable lasers by natural sunlight may provide cost-effective solutions to free coherent optical radiation generation, leading to numerous benefits in the years to come. Solar-pumped lasers are usually considered for applications where sunlight is abundant and other forms of energy sources are scarce, especially in space (Vasile and Maddock, 2012;Guan et al, 2017). Powered by free solar energy, solar laser has also large potential for terrestrial applications such as high-temperature materials processing (Yabe et al, 2007).…”

“…It can deploys three moderate power renewable laser beams, thus providing the capability to tailor the applied solar laser energy to the specific needs of material processing applications. In some space applications (Guan et al, 2017), the concerns on absolute solar laser power level can be relegated to a less important role, while the simultaneous emissions of several solar laser beams at low power level, but with enhanced beam quality, may become more demanding. It is based on these concerns that the three-rod solar laser scheme was designed, implemented and tested.…”

Design and Evaluation of Flat Solar Concentrator

“…The laser generated from the solar spectrum was used to fuel electrical Vehicles. Other applications include free space communication [3] and alternative energy source supply [4].…”

Ince-Gauss Photons in Turbulent Atmosphere: Effect of quantum numbers on beam resilience

“…This is why they are not, in some cases, a viable solution for last mile connectivity or for the building of networks in remote places [1]. For these reasons and others, like the possibility to use different basis like polarization and optical angular momentum of light to encode information that is resistant to eavesdropping, free space optical (FSO) communication systems represent an excellent alternative [2][3][4][5][6]. The vast majority of studies on FSO systems focus on the properties of fundamental Gaussian beams.…”