Title :
Research and development of free-space laser communications and quantum key distribution technologies at NICT
Author :
Toyoshima, Morio ; Sasaki, Takashi ; Takenaka, Hideki ; Shoji, Yozo ; Takayama, Yoshihisa ; Koyama, Yoshisada ; Kunimori, Hiroo ; Akioka, Maki ; Fujiwara, Mikio ; Sasaki, Masahide
Author_Institution :
Space Commun. Syst. Lab., Nat. Inst. of Inf. & Commun. Technol. (NICT), Koganei, Japan
Abstract :
Since 2006, ground-to-satellite laser communication experiments have been successfully performed using intensity modulation/direct detection (IMDD) between the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) optical ground station located in Tokyo and a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite. With the advent of coherent binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) receivers in orbit by a German satellite, it is now absolutely imperative to establish interoperability between the different optical communications systems. At NICT, an optical receiver that can demodulate both IMDD and coherent optical signals for free-space laser communications has been developed that can recover the carrier phase after homodyne detection by means of digital signal processing (DSP). A transportable optical ground station has also been developed for site-diversity purposes in order to increase accessibility between terrestrial and space systems. A new NICT mid-term research plan has started since April 2011 and this paper presents research and development in free-space laser communications technologies at NICT.
Keywords :
intensity modulation; optical fibre communication; quantum cryptography; satellite ground stations; BPSK receivers; German satellite; LEO satellite; NICT; National Institute of Information and Communications Technology; Tokyo; binary phase-shift keying; digital signal processing; free-space laser communications; ground-to-satellite laser communication; intensity modulation/direct detection; low earth orbit satellite; optical communications systems; optical ground station; optical receiver; quantum key distribution; Measurement by laser beam; Optical fiber communication; Optical receivers; Optical sensors; Optical transmitters; Satellite broadcasting; Satellites; laser communications; laser tracking; optical ground station; quantum key distribution; satellite communications;
Conference_Titel :
Space Optical Systems and Applications (ICSOS), 2011 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Santa Monica, CA
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-9686-0
DOI :
10.1109/ICSOS.2011.5783667