Adding an on Off Keying (OOK) Communications Signal to a Free Space Optical Beacon Pointing Focal Plane Array System
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Shoup, Ryan; Michael, Steven; Glettler, James; Hopman, Pablo
- Source
- MILCOM 2019 - 2019 IEEE Military Communications Conference (MILCOM) Military Communications Conference (MILCOM), MILCOM 2019 - 2019 IEEE. :59-64 Nov, 2019
- Subject
- Aerospace
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Computing and Processing
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Optical fiber communication
Optical arrays
Modulation
Optical transmitters
Optical receivers
Optical sensors
Optical attenuators
- Language
- ISSN
- 2155-7586
In addition to the primary high rate communications signal, optical communications systems can include lower power beacon signals to aid in the pointing alignment between the transmitter and receiver. The beacon can be a simple always-on signal at a separate wavelength that the receiver can use for spatial tracking. The beacon signal may also be modulated at a low frequency for the purpose of discrimination between potentially multiple optical transmitting terminals. Applying data modulation to the beacon signal to form a low rate communications signal is also possible. The practical application of applying data modulation to a beacon signal along with associated system trades are discussed.