Modulating retro-reflector lasercom systems at the Naval Research Laboratory

Author

Goetz, Peter G. ; Rabinovich, William S. ; Mahon, Rita ; Murphy, James L. ; Ferraro, Mike S. ; Suite, Michele R. ; Smith, Walter R. ; Xu, Ben B. ; Burris, Harris R. ; Moore, Christopher I. ; Schultz, Warren W. ; Mathieu, Barry M. ; Freeman, Wade T. ; Fraw

Author_Institution

Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA

fYear

2010

fDate

Oct. 31 2010-Nov. 3 2010

Firstpage

1601

Lastpage

1606

Abstract

Free space optical (FSO) communication has enjoyed a renewal of interest driven by increasing data rate requirements and the crowding of the RF spectrum, affecting both commercial and military sectors. Military communications must also deal with intentional or unintentional jamming, as well as frequency allocation restrictions, neither of which affects FSO. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has been conducting research on FSO communications since 1998 with an emphasis on tactical applications. NRL´s FSO research has covered propagation studies in the maritime domain, component development, and systems demonstrations. NRL has developed both conventional laser communications systems and retro-reflecting systems for small platforms. This paper reviews some of the retro-reflecting work, discusses applications of FSO in the areas of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and describes future directions.

Keywords

frequency allocation; jamming; military communication; optical communication; space communication links; EOD; FSO communication; NRL; RF spectrum; UAV; explosive ordnance disposal; free space optical communication; frequency allocation; laser communication; military communication; naval research laboratory; retro-reflector lasercom system; tactical application; unmanned aerial vehicle; Apertures; Laser beams; Lasers; Optical fiber communication; Optical transmitters; Robots; Streaming media; CREW; LPI/LPD techniques; Packbot; airborne technologies; anti-jamming techniques; free-space optical; frequency allocation; intelligence; lasercom; modulating retro-reflector; reconnaissance; surveillance; unmanned aerial vehicles;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE, 2010 - MILCOM 2010

Conference_Location

San Jose, CA

ISSN

2155-7578

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-8178-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/MILCOM.2010.5680205

Filename

5680205