The applicability of high-power laser diodes to optical intersatellite links

Abstract

Laser diodes (LD) are investigated as a suitable light source of a transmitter for an optical intersatellite link (ISL). The requirements for an LD are high power, a single‐lobed beam, and a high‐speed direct modulation capability. In this study, concerning a high‐power LD of 1‐watt output class, the radiation, polarization, and modulation characteristics are examined. It is shown that a signal modulation bandwidth of 300 MHz and 750 mW output power are possible, and that the modulation bandwidth can be expanded to 400 MHz by improving the driver circuit. However, multiple peaks in the far‐field pattern and higher‐harmonic generation are problems to be solved for an optical ISL. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electron Comm Jpn Pt 2, 81(3): 29–38, 1998