Free-space Optical Interconnect for Inter-Satellite Communications

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ubiquitous. As the next generation of satellites is being deployed there is a need for efficient interconnectionsbetween them, especially for those forming low earth orbiting constellations for the coming Internet-of-Spaceapplications. The limited radio frequency spectrum available is not sufficient to implement thesecommunication links, and thus, free-space optical interconnects (FSOIs) are expected to become the technologyof choice to interconnect satellites. Reflex Photonics, a company from Kirkland, Quebec, has been providingoptical interconnect solutions for connections inside satellites for the past 3 years and now wants to explorehow it can leverage its expertise to build FSOI transmitters for space applications. To do this, they want tocontinue their collaboration with Prof. Ménard of UQAM and built on the knowledge gained about siliconphotonic modulators during a previous Engage project to develop a FSOI transmitter demonstrator takingadvantage of this technology and to investigate through simulations how the potential for integration of siliconphotonics could be used to miniaturise the transmitter in order to make it suitable for space applications.