Comparing optical combining methods for fiber-bundle-based free-space optical receivers

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Fiber-bundle-based free-space optical receivers have potential to increase the receiver field of view and mitigate turbulence effects on collected power. Combining optical signals from individual fibers into a single data signal remains a challenge. We present a homogenizer-based method for optically combining individual signals and compare this to a lens-based method. A simulation assessed signal combining properties of the homogenizer system. Experiments compared the two methods on the field of view (FOV) and bit-error-rate (BER) versus the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for a range of turbulence levels. The homogenizer-based method increases the FOV by at least three degrees. The BER increased more slowly with increasing turbulence for the homogenizer-based method than for the lens-based design and was lower for all turbulence levels studied. Thus, the homogenizer-based method provides a potentially viable solution for addressing the signal combination problem in fiber-bundle-based receivers.
Funding Information
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NSSC20M0214)

This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit: