OPTICALLY-ADDRESSED MEMBRANE SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR FOR AN ADAPTIVE OPTICS SYSTEM IN LASER COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

THE USE OF LASER SYSTEMS FOR OPTICAL COMMUNICATION IS EXPECTED TO BE WIDELY IMPLEMENTED IN THE FUTURE. THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSED THE CRITICAL TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES OF WAVEFRONT CORRECTING A LASER BEAM FOR SATELLITE OPTICAL COMMUNICATION UNDER A DYNAMIC OPERATING ENVIRONMENT AND STRINGENT MISSION REQUIREMENTS. OPTRON SYSTEMS PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AN OPTICALLY ADDRESSED 2-D PHASE MODULATOR BASED ON DEFORMABLE MIRROR TECHNOLOGY. THIS DEVICE OVERCOMES THE LOW RESOLUTION, SLOW FRAME RATES, HIGH COST AND DYNAMIC-RANGE LIMITATIONS OF PRESENTLY AVAILABLE SYSTEMS. WITH THE ADDITION OF A WAVEFRONT SENSOR AND A FEEDBACK PATH, THE MODULATOR IS READILY INCORPORATED INTO CLOSED-LOOP SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMATIC WAVEFRONT CORRECTION. THE PHASE I PROGRAM INVOLVES DEVICE DESIGN OPTIMIZATION AND MODELLING, COMPONENT DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING, AND THE DEMONSTRATION OF A PROTOTYPE MODULATOR. THE PROTOTYPE MODULATOR IS EXPECTED TO EXHIBIT 10(4) RESOLUTION ELEMENTS, FRAMING RATES OF AT LEAST 100HZ, AND A DEPTH OF PHASE MODULATION OF AT LEAST 7PSI. IN THE PHASE II PROGRAM, WITH FURTHER DEVELOPMENT, WE EXPECT TO UPGRADE THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROTOTYPE DEVICE AND MEET, AT THE VERY LEAST, ALL THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE OPERATIONAL STAGE (100-200 HZ, 512X512 PIXELS) AND DEMONSTRATE WAVEFRONT CORRECTION CAPABILITY.