Abstract

The average efficiency of spatial light coupling into a single-mode optical fiber is widely used but cannot estimate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and bit error rate (BER) in free-space optical communication. We provide a statistical model for coupling efficiency and derive the exact expression of the probability density function (PDF). The simulation results confirm that the model is reasonable in the condition of different turbulence intensities and wavefront compensation terms, which is also consistent with our outdoor experiment. We also estimate the average SNR and BER using the PDF. The model is quite useful in a satellite-to-ground laser communication downlink.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

Performance analysis of satellite-to-ground downlink coherent optical communications with spatial diversity over Gamma–Gamma atmospheric turbulence

Jing Ma, Kangning Li, Liying Tan, Siyuan Yu, and Yubin Cao
Appl. Opt. 54(25) 7575-7585 (2015)

Experimental verification of fiber coupling characteristics for FSO downlinks from the International Space Station

Phuc V. Trinh, Dimitar R. Kolev, Koichi Shiratama, Alberto Carrasco-Casado, Yasushi Munemasa, Hiroaki Yamazoe, Hiromitsu Komatsu, Toshiaki Kamata, Takashi Nakao, Shinji Ohta, Kyohei Iwamoto, Mikio Fujiwara, Hiroyuki Tsuji, and Morio Toyoshima
Opt. Express 31(5) 9081-9097 (2023)

Fiber-coupling efficiency of Gaussian Schell model for optical communication through atmospheric turbulence

Liying Tan, Mengnan Li, Qingbo Yang, and Jing Ma
Appl. Opt. 54(9) 2318-2325 (2015)

Experimental demonstration of single-mode fiber coupling over relatively strong turbulence with adaptive optics

Mo Chen, Chao Liu, and Hao Xian
Appl. Opt. 54(29) 8722-8726 (2015)

Spatial light coupled into a single-mode fiber by a Maksutov–Cassegrain antenna through atmospheric turbulence

Xizheng Ke and Sichen Lei
Appl. Opt. 55(15) 3897-3902 (2016)