Mid-wave and long-wave infrared transmitters and detectors for optical satellite communications—a review

Abstract

There has been a recent surge in interest for optical satellite communication utilizing lasers. It is clear to see why, as optical SatCom is capable of higher speed, lighter weight, higher directionality, and higher efficiency versus their radio-based counterparts. Research into optical SatCom has focused on devices operating in the short-wave infrared, which is due to the maturity and commercial availability of such component’s thanks to significant development in terrestrial telecommunications networks. However, short-wave infrared performs poorly in fog and heavy weather, prompting investigations into longer mid-wave and long-wave infrared bands for optical communication instead due to reduced atmospheric losses. This paper provides a comprehensive review of laser transmitters, detectors, and the science behind selecting longer wavelengths for optical SatCom to boost optical SatCom between ground stations and low earth orbit satellite constellations being deployed.

The role of lanthanide luminescence in advancing technology

“…Notably, the 1550 nm emission band from Er 3+ is useful for optical communication between bases on earth, but is not ideal for communication to space due to meteorological intereferences. 91 With respect to deep space communication, however, the 1064 nm emission from Nd:YAG lasers have been used for communication between NASA terrestrial bases and spacecras orbiting Mercury and Mars. 92,93 Surprisingly for the time, the emission from the laser was detected at 24 000 000 km from the source, proving that lanthanide NIR lasers could be used for communication in deep space.…”

Structure and mid-infrared optical properties of spin-coated polyethylene films developed for integrated photonics applications

“…Further details on the fabrication and the RI data of the PE thin films are available elsewhere 49 . The simulations were carried out for a target wavelength of 9.26 µm, which is in one of the spectral windows suitable for free-space optical telecommunication [5] . The plasmonic waveguide architecture under investigation is the DLSPP waveguide, shown in Figure 1a.…”

“…The long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectral region (8-14 µm) is a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum covering many applications of significant interest, ranging from high -performance spectroscopy [1][2][3][4] to optical free-space communication 5 . In particular, chip-scale LWIR photonics has enormous potential for realizing unprecedented miniaturized devices.…”

Mid-infrared Ring Interband Cascade Laser: Operation at the Standard Quantum Limit

“…These sources have immediately attracted wide interest in view of the many potential applications, with a focus on molecular species detection in solid, , liquid, , and gas phases. , This has sparked, e.g., important works in greenhouse gas detection of methane, carbon dioxide, or nitrous oxide, including the detection of the most elusive gas isotopes, in high-sensitivity gas measurements down to the ppq level , even in real-world applications, or in broadband (>10 cm –1 ), high-resolution (MHz-range) spectroscopy techniques like dual-comb spectroscopy . Moreover, other important mid-IR applications are currently getting significant attention, such as spectral imaging ,, and, in more recent years, optical free-space communication. − …”