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In‐axis reception by polarization discrimination in a modulating‐retroreflector‐based free‐space optical communication link
Author(s) -
CarrascoCasado Alberto,
Vergaz Ricardo,
SánchezPena José M.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
microwave and optical technology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.304
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1098-2760
pISSN - 0895-2477
DOI - 10.1002/mop.27116
Subject(s) - retroreflector , free space optical communication , free space , microwave , polarization (electrochemistry) , optics , laser , optical communication , physics , computer science , electronic engineering , engineering , telecommunications , chemistry
A new optical configuration is proposed for ground stations designed to receive information from modulating‐retroreflector‐based terminals in a free‐space optical communication link. This configuration is based on the polarization discrimination of the ground station laser sent to the remote terminal. It achieves the optimal usage of the laser power, which is a key parameter in modulating‐retroreflector‐based links. A simulation has been made in order to model the system in terms of power losses and states of polarization and an experimental setup has been implemented to verify the validity of the simulation. A gain of over 6 dB has been measured using the new setup compared with a simple trajectory discrimination setup, achieving a very good agreement with the prediction. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:2520–2522, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.27116