This book is intended for research scientists, engineers and students with an interest in the topic of free-space laser communications. It is intended as an all-inclusive source to serve the needs of those who require information about both basic concepts, as well as up-to-date advanced knowledge of the state-of-the-art in the technologies available today. This is the first book which provides in a comprehensive and tutorial manner, the fundamental principles and advances of free-space laser communications. Topics addressed include: atmospheric channel effects including available models, system design and performance, laser transmitter/ receiver designs for high performance photon-efficient systems, adaptive optics technology for atmospheric compensation, optical networks, coding techniques, and long wavelength free-space optical communications.

Autorentext

Arun K. Majumdar Ph.D., is Director of Research at LCResearch, Inc. in California. He has more than 23 years of experience from Industry, University and National Laboratory settings in the areas of atmospheric turbulence effects on laser propagation, imaging and communications. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Irvine.

Jennifer C. Ricklin **received her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. She has been with the Army Research Laboratory since 1983. Since that time her research interests have included a number of topical applications of laser beam propagation in the atmosphere. She is now a Program Manager at DARPA / ATO.

Zusammenfassung
Free-space laser communications, also referred to as optical communica tions, is a popular subject in today's technological marketplace. A number of conferences on this subject have been organized by professional societies such as SPIE (the International Society of Photo Optical and Instrumenta tion Engineering), OSA (Optical Society of America), and IEEE (Instituteof Electrical and Electronics Engineers). The evolving technology of free-space laser communications is emerging as an appealing alternative to RF com munications for links between satellites, as well as a promising addition to terrestrial applications such as video or computer linkups between buildings. There is a pressing need for more information on laser communications that is comprehensive enough to provide in-depth knowledge of free-space com munications, and that can satisfy the current demands of the research and commercial needs. This book has been designed to provide a comprehensive, unified tutorial to further understanding of the fundamental techniques for laser communi cations through the earth's atmosphere. The driving force behind free-space laser communications is the continuous demand for higher bandwidth to deliver high-capacity voice, data, and images to the customer. Free-space propagation distances include ranges that encompass a few millimeters (for example between optical interconnects in a computer using photonics to replace metal interconnects), a fewmeters (such as indoor communications), a fewkilometers (between buildings, campuses, and hospitals), and even up to thousands of kilometers (such as from an aircraft or satellite to the ground).

Inhalt
Atmospheric channel effects on free-space laser communication.- Free-space laser communication performance in the atmospheric channel.- Laser communication transmitter and receiver design.- Free-space laser communications with adaptive optics: Atmospheric compensation experiments.- Optical networks, last mile access and applications.- Communication techniques and coding for atmospheric turbulence channels.- Optical Communications in the mid-wave IR spectral band.- Quantum cascade laser-based free space optical communications.- All-weather long-wavelength infrared free space optical communications.