Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Estimation Optical Communications”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1973

Map synchronization in optical communication systems

The time synchronization problem in an optical communication system is approached as a problem of estimating the arrival time (delay variable) of a known transmitted field. Maximum aposteriori (MAP) estimation procedures are used to generate optimal estimators, with emphasis placed on their interpretation as a practical system device, Estimation variances are used to aid in the design of the transmitter signals for best synchronization. Extension is made to systems that perform separate acquisition and tracking operations during synchronization. The closely allied problem of maintaining timing during pulse position modulation is also considered. The results have obvious application to optical radar and ranging systems, as well as the time synchronization problem.

Gagliardi, R. M.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Economical 10-Meter-Class Ground-Based Receiver for Deep-Space Optical Communications

Modifications to an existing radiofrequency telescope are described which would enable it to operate as an R&D optical receiver terminal for deep-space communications. The low overall cost of the telescope is due to the unique process of fabricating the 10.4 meter primary mirror and its support structure, the lightweight of the primary (10-11 kg/m 2 ), and the requirement that the telescope act only as a photon bucket, which lowers the cost of optically figuring and polishing the mirror. The entrie optical ground terminal facility is estimated to cost approximately $10M to construct.

deep-space↗
NASA NTRS1972

Receiver processing for direct-detection optical communication systems.

A model that is sufficiently general to describe the predominant statistical characteristics of the output of many real optical detectors is formulated. This model is used to study the optimum receiver processing for direct-detection optical communication systems. In particular, the structures of detectors and estimators for filtered doubly stochastic Poisson processes (DSPP) observed in additive white Gaussian noise are considered. Representations for the posterior statistics of a vector Markov process that modulates the intensity of the DSPP are obtained.

Hoversten, E. V.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A preliminary weather model for optical communications through the atmosphere

A preliminary weather model is presented for optical propagation through the atmosphere. It can be used to compute the attenuation loss due to the atmosphere for desired link availability statistics. The quantitative results that can be obtained from this model provide good estimates for the atmospheric link budget necessary for the design of an optical communication system. The result is extended to provide for the computation of joint attenuation probability for n sites with uncorrelated weather patterns.

Shaik, K. S.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Fiber Pulling Apparatus

The fiber optics industry has grown into a multi-billion marketplace that will continue to grow into the 21st century. Optical fiber communications is currently dominated by silica glass technology. Successful efforts to improve upon the low loss transmission characteristics of silica fibers have propelled the technology into the forefront of the communications industry. However, reaching the theoretical transmission capability of silica fiber through improved processing has still left a few application areas in which other fiber systems can provide an influential role due to specific characteristics of high theoretical transmission in the 2 - 3 micron wavelength region. One of the other major materials used for optical fibers is the systems based upon Heavy Metal Fluoride Glass (HMFG). Commercial interest is driven primarily by the potential for low loss repeaterless infrared fibers. An example of the major communications marketplace which would benefit from the long distance repeaterless capability of infrared fibers is the submarine cables which link the continents. When considering commercial interests, optical fiber systems provide a healthy industrial position which continues to expand. Major investments in the systems used for optical fiber communications have continued to increase each year and are predicted to continue well into the next century. Estimates of 8.5% compounded annually are predicted through 1999 for the North American market and 1 1 % worldwide. The growth for the optical fiber cable itself is expected to continue between 44 and 50 per cent of the optical fiber communications budget through 1999. The total budget in 1999 world-wide is expected to be in the neighborhood of $9 billion. Another survey predicts that long haul telecommunications represents 15% of a world-wide fiber optics market in 1998. The actual amount allotted to cable was not specified. However, another market research had predicted that the cable costs alone represents more than 50% of the total budget each year through 1998. A newly emerging activity is the commercial development of doped optical fibers which can be pumped by laser diodes to provide amplification of the communication signals. This technology is newly emerging and will be developed for commercial interests in the United States by Galileo Electro-optical Incorporated in Sturbridge, MA on a license from British Telecom. Long repeaterless communication links provide the biggest stimulus for this technology. As an example of the of the revenues involved in the optical fiber communications 3 industry, the current trade journal lists that for the fiscal years, 1991 - 1994, 185 separate undersea links were established. In addition, another 105 links are planned through 1998. The distribution of revenues involved in the undersea installations is roughly $8.5 billion through 1993 and another $13 billion planned through 1998. A large portion of the future activity (34%) is planned for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Region. Other examples of the commercial utility of optical fiber networks is given in a recent scientific symposium in which the outlook for HMFG infrared fiber was determined to be very bright.Another area of interest lies in the use of fiber optics for laser surgery delivery systems.

Workman, Gary L.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of optimum methods of optical communication

Optimum methods of optical communication accounting for the effects of the turbulent atmosphere and quantum mechanics, both by the semi-classical method and the full-fledged quantum theoretical model are described. A concerted effort to apply the techniques of communication theory to the novel problems of optical communication by a careful study of realistic models and their statistical descriptions, the finding of appropriate optimum structures and the calculation of their performance and, insofar as possible, comparing them to conventional and other suboptimal systems are discussed. In this unified way the bounds on performance and the structure of optimum communication systems for transmission of information, imaging, tracking, and estimation can be determined for optical channels.

Harger, R. O.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Design and analysis study of a spacecraft optical transceiver package

A detailed system level design of an Optical Transceiver Package (OPTRANSPAC) for a deep space vehicle whose mission is outer planet exploration is developed. In addition to the terminal design, this study provides estimates of the dynamic environments to be encountered by the transceiver throughout its mission life. Optical communication link analysis, optical thin lens design, electronic functional design and mechanical layout and packaging are employed in the terminal design. Results of the study describe an Optical Transceiver Package capable of communicating to an Earth Orbiting Relay Station at a distance of 10 Astronomical Units (AU) and data rates up to 100 KBPS. The transceiver is also capable of receiving 1 KBPS of command data from the Earth Relay. The physical dimensions of the terminal are contained within a 3.5' x 1.5' x 2.0' envelope and the transceiver weight and power are estimated at 52.2 Kg (115 pounds) and 57 watts, respectively.

Lambert, S. G.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Highly Efficient Nd:yag Lasers for Free-space Optical Communications

A highly efficient Nd:YAG laser end-pumped by semiconductor lasers as a possible free-space optical communications source is discussed. Because this concept affords high pumping densities, a long absorption length, and excellent mode-matching characteristics, it is estimated that electrical-to-optical efficiencies greater than 5% could be achieved. Several engineering aspects such as resonator size and configuration, pump collecting optics, and thermal effects are also discussed. Finally, possible methods for combining laser-diode pumps to achieve higher output powers are illustrated.

Sipes, D. L., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Optical communication with two-photon coherent states. II - Photoemissive detection and structured receiver performance

In a previous paper (1978), the authors developed a method of analyzing the performance of two-photon coherent state (TCS) systems for free-space optical communications. General theorems permitting application of classical point process results to detection and estimation of signals in arbitrary quantum states were derived. The present paper examines the general problem of photoemissive detection statistics. On the basis of the photocounting theory of Kelley and Kleiner (1964) it is shown that for arbitrary pure state illumination, the resulting photocurrent is in general a self-exciting point process. The photocount statistics for first-order coherent fields reduce to those of a special class of Markov birth processes, which the authors term single-mode birth processes. These general results are applied to the structure of TCS radiation, and it is shown that the use of TCS radiation with direct or heterodyne detection results in minimal performance increments over comparable coherent-state systems. However, significant performance advantages are offered by use of TCS radiation with homodyne detection. The abstract quantum descriptions of homodyne and heterodyne detection are derived and a synthesis procedure for obtaining quantum measurements described by arbitrary TCS is given.

Shapiro, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Full-Duplex Digital Communication on a Single Laser Beam

A proposed free-space optical communication system would operate in a full-duplex mode, using a single constant-power laser beam for transmission and reception of binary signals at both ends of the free-space optical path. The system was conceived for two-way data communication between a ground station and a spacecraft in a low orbit around the Earth. It has been estimated that in this application, a data rate of 10 kb/s could be achieved at a ground-station-to-spacecraft distance of 320 km, using a laser power of only 100 mW. The basic system concept is also applicable to terrestrial free-space optical communications. The system (see figure) would include a diode laser at one end of the link (originally, the ground station) and a liquid-crystal- based retroreflecting modulator at the other end of the link (originally, the spacecraft). At the laser end, the beam to be transmitted would be made to pass through a quarter-wave plate, which would convert its linear polarization to right circular polarization. For transmission of data from the laser end to the retroreflector end, the laser beam would be modulated with subcarrier phase-shift keying (SC-PSK). The transmitted beam would then pass through an aperture- sharing element (ASE) - basically, a mirror with a hole in it, used to separate the paths of the transmitted and received light beams. The transmitted beam would continue outward through a telescope (which, in the original application, would be equipped with a spacecraft-tracking system) that would launch the transmitted beam along the free-space optical path to the retroreflector end.

Hazzard, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing Using Earth Thermal Images for Deep Space Optical Communications

The feasibility of using long wavelength Earth thermal (infrared) images for telescope tracking/pointing application. for both Deep Space Free- pace Optical Communications has been investigated and is reported her. The advantage of this technology rests on using full Earth images in this band, which yield more accurate estimates of geometric centroids than that of Earth images in the visible band. Another major advantage is that these images are nearly independent of Earth phase angle. The results of the study show that at a Mars range, with currently available sensors, a noise equivalent angle of 10 to 150 nanoradians and a bias error of better than 80 nanoradians can be obtained. This enables precise pointing of the optical communications beam for high data rate links.

free-space optical communication↗
NASA NTRS2006

Low-Cost Large Aperture Telescopes for Optical Communications

Low-cost, 0.5-1 meter ground apertures are required for near-Earth laser communications. Low-cost ground apertures with equivalent diameters greater than 10 meters are desired for deep-space communications. This presentation focuses on identifying schemes to lower the cost of constructing networks of large apertures while continuing to meet the requirements for laser communications. The primary emphasis here is on the primary mirror. A slumped glass spherical mirror, along with passive secondary mirror corrector and active adaptive optic corrector show promise as a low-cost alternative to large diameter monolithic apertures. To verify the technical performance and cost estimate, development of a 1.5-meter telescope equipped with gimbal and dome is underway.

optical communications↗
NASA NTRS2013

Radio Science from an Optical Communications Signal

NASA is currently developing the capability to deploy deep space optical communications links. This creates the opportunity to utilize the optical link to obtain range, doppler, and signal intensity estimates. These may, in turn, be used to complement or extend the capabilities of current radio science. In this paper we illustrate the achievable precision in estimating range, doppler, and received signal intensity of an non-coherent optical link (the current state-of-the-art for a deep-space link). We provide a joint estimation algorithm with performance close to the bound. We draw comparisons to estimates based on a coherent radio frequency signal, illustrating that large gains in either precision or observation time are possible with an optical link.

Moision, Bruce↗
NASA NTRS2013

Three-Axis Attitude Estimation With a High-Bandwidth Angular Rate Sensor

A continuing challenge for modern instrument pointing control systems is to meet the increasingly stringent pointing performance requirements imposed by emerging advanced scientific, defense, and civilian payloads. Instruments such as adaptive optics telescopes, space interferometers, and optical communications make unprecedented demands on precision pointing capabilities. A cost-effective method was developed for increasing the pointing performance for this class of NASA applications. The solution was to develop an attitude estimator that fuses star tracker and gyro measurements with a high-bandwidth angular rotation sensor (ARS). An ARS is a rate sensor whose bandwidth extends well beyond that of the gyro, typically up to 1,000 Hz or higher. The most promising ARS sensor technology is based on a magnetohydrodynamic concept, and has recently become available commercially. The key idea is that the sensor fusion of the star tracker, gyro, and ARS provides a high-bandwidth attitude estimate suitable for supporting pointing control with a fast-steering mirror or other type of tip/tilt correction for increased performance. The ARS is relatively inexpensive and can be bolted directly next to the gyro and star tracker on the spacecraft bus. The high-bandwidth attitude estimator fuses an ARS sensor with a standard three-axis suite comprised of a gyro and star tracker. The estimation architecture is based on a dual-complementary filter (DCF) structure. The DCF takes a frequency- weighted combination of the sensors such that each sensor is most heavily weighted in a frequency region where it has the lowest noise. An important property of the DCF is that it avoids the need to model disturbance torques in the filter mechanization. This is important because the disturbance torques are generally not known in applications. This property represents an advantage over the prior art because it overcomes a weakness of the Kalman filter that arises when fusing more than one rate measurement. An additional advantage over prior art is that, computationally, the DCF requires significantly fewer real-time calculations than a Kalman filter formulation. There are essentially two reasons for this: the DCF state is not augmented with angular rate, and measurement updates occur at the slower gyro rate instead of the faster ARS sampling rate. Finally, the DCF has a simple and compelling architecture. The DCF is exactly equivalent to flying two identical attitude observers, one at low rate and one at high rate. These attitude observers are exactly of the form currently flown on typical three-axis spacecraft.

Bayard, David S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Confidence range estimate of extended source imagery acquisition algorithms via computer simulations

Spatial acquisition using the sun-lit Earth as a beacon source provides several advantages over active beacon-based systems for deep-space optical communication systems. However, since the angular extend of the Earth image is large compared to the laser beam divergence, the acquisition subsystem must be capable of resolving the image to derive the proper pointing orientation. The algorithms used must be capable of deducing the receiver location given the blurring introduced by the imaging optics and the large Earth albedo fluctuation. Furthermore, because of the complexity of modelling the Earth and the tracking algorithms, an accurate estimate of the algorithm accuracy can only be made via simulation using realistic Earth images. An image simulator was constructed for this purpose, and the results of the simulation runs are reported.

Chen, CHIEN-C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Independent Component Analysis for Preprocessing Optical Signals in Support of Multi-User Communication

In an effort to construct an optical transceiver for supporting multi-point communication, researchers developed large field-of-view FSO transceivers with wide apertures for facilitating rapid acquisition and optical signal tracking. The design is constructed from fiber-bundle(s) intelligently arranged to provide multiple optical pathways within a single transceiver, with each pathway limited to a particular optical directionality. Because designs with wide apertures are susceptible to receiving several optical signals simultaneously from multiple transmitters, accurately decoding individual signals and achieving true multi-user communication can be difficult. The work detailed in this paper investigated the use of blind source separation techniques, mainly independent component analysis (ICA), to estimate transmitted signals from their observed, combined mixtures sans information. Effects of signal power, format, data rate, wavelength, and turbulence severity on signal separation, as well as signal demodulation accuracy was also analyzed using experimental optical signals and corresponding mixtures. Signal generators, laser sources, turbulence emulator, beam profiler, photodiodes, and oscilloscopes comprised the experiment setup. Optical signals with varying power, format, and wavelength were generated and propagated through turbulence with varying degree severity, and finally received by the fiber-bundle-based optical transceiver. Results demonstrate that an ICA technique can accurately process the combined signals into corresponding individual components. The investigation further identified signal characteristics (e.g., power levels, format, data rate) and turbulence severity under which ICA is unable to accurately perform signal separations.

Optics↗