Adaptive Optics for Free-Space Optical Communications

自由空间光通信（FSOC）利用光传输数据信号，可以提供比传统无线电通信更高的带宽和更安全的链路。然而，地球湍流的大气层会导致光束漂移并分裂成斑点，从而产生误差并降低带宽。这些伪影可以通过自适应光学（AO）系统进行校正。AO是一项成熟的技术，在包括天文学和显微镜在内的许多领域都经常使用，但它尚未完全转移到卫星FSOC系统中。一个问题是，该系统必须在白天以低仰角工作，以最大限度地与轨道卫星建立联系。这些额外的复杂性加剧了湍流的影响。在这个项目中，我们将评估强湍流对AO和FSOC链接的影响，并开发新的AO算法，以增加AO在这些不利条件下的操作窗口。

Free-space optical communications (FSOC), using light to transmit data signals, can provide higher-bandwidth and more secure links than traditional radio communications. However, the Earth's turbulent atmosphere causes the optical beam to wander and break into speckles introducing errors and reducing the bandwidth. These artefacts can be corrected by Adaptive Optics (AO) systems. AO is a mature technology and is a regular used in many fields including astronomy and microscopy, however it has yet to be fully transferred to satellite FSOC systems. One issue is that the system must work during the daytime and at low elevation angles to maximise the links with orbiting satellites. These additional complexities exacerbate the effect of the turbulence. In this project we will assess the effect of strong turbulence on AO and FSOC links and develop new AO algorithms to increase the AO operational window into these less favourable conditions.