Laser Communication System

WORKING

This laser communication system transmits sound or music signals through a laser beam. The intensity of the laser beam changes with the amplitude of the sound signal. The variation in the intensity of the laser beam is converted into a variation in the voltage level by using a calculator’s solar panel. The voltage variation on the solar panel is amplified by a low-voltage audio power amplifier LM386 and reproduced by a speaker. The maximum output of audio amplifier LM386 is 1 watt, while its voltage gain is 20 to 200. The circuit consists of a transmitter and a receiver. Both the transmitter and the receiver are built around IC LM386, powered by a 9V battery.

Fig. (a) shows the transmitter circuit. Here a laser diode (LD1) with maximum operating voltage of around 2.6V DC and maximum operating current of 45 mA is used to transmit the audio signal. The voltage divider network formed by R2, R3 and VR3 keeps the voltage as well as the current for the laser diode in the safe region.
In place of the laser diode, you can also use a laser pointer. Remove the battery from the laser pointer. Extend two wires from terminals of LD1 and connect them to the battery terminals of laser pointer. The spring inside the laser pointer is the negative terminal. The output power of the laser pointer is 5 mW. Take care while working with laser, as direct exposure to the laser beam can be hazardous to your eyes. Point the laser beam to the solar panel.

Potmeter VR1 (10-kilo-ohm) is used to change the level of the input audio signal. The audio input (Vin) is taken from the preamplifier output of the music system (CD player, DVD player, etc). Capacitor C2 and preset VR2 are used to vary the gain of the LM386.

Fig. (b) shows the receiver circuit. The audio signal transmitted by the laser diode (LD1) is received by the calculator’s solar panel and amplified by IC2. The gain of the amplifier is fixed by capacitor C7. Preset VR4 is used to change the signal level from the solar panel. This signal is fed to input pin 3 of IC2 through coupling capacitor C5 so that the DC value from the solar panel can be eliminated. The amplified output from IC2 is fed to the speaker, which plays the music from the CD player connected at the input (Vin) of IC1.

Assemble the transmitter and receiver circuits on separate PCBs and enclose in suitable cabinets. In the transmitter cabinet, fix two terminals for connecting the audio signal. Fix switch S1 on the front panel and the laser diode (LD1 or laser pointer) to the rear side of the cabinet. Keep the 9V battery inside the cabinet.

In the receiver cabinet, fix the calculator’s solar panel to the rear side such that the transmitted beam directly falls on it. Fix switch S2 on the front panel and the speaker to the rear side. Keep the 9V battery inside the cabinet. Refer Figs 3 and 4 for the laser pointer and calculator’s solar panel.

After assembling both the circuits, orient the laser diode (or laser pointer) such that the transmitted laser beam directly falls on the solar panel. Use shielded wires for connecting to audio input and solar panel to reduce noise pickup.

COMPONENT LIST

ADVANTAGES OF LASER SYSTEMS

Laser communication systems offer many advantages over radio frequency (RF) systems.

Most of the differences between laser communication and RF arise from the very large difference in the wavelengths. RF wavelengths are thousands of times longer than those at optical frequencies are. This high ratio of wavelengths leads to some interesting differences in the two systems. First, the beam-width attainable with the laser communication system is narrower than that of the RF system by the same ratio at the same antenna diameters (the telescope of the laser communication system is frequently referred as an antenna). For a given transmitter power level, the laser beam is brighter at the receiver by the square of this ratio due to the very narrow beam that exits the transmit telescope. Taking advantage of this brighter beam or higher gain, permits the laser communication designer to come up with a system that has a much smaller antenna than the RF system and further, need transmit much less power than the RF system for the same receiver power. However since it is much harder to point, acquisition of the other satellite terminal is more difficult. Some advantages of laser communications over RF are smaller antenna size, lower weight, lower power and minimal integration impact on the satellite. Laser communication is capable of much higher data rates than RF.

The laser beam width can be made as narrow as the diffraction limit of the optic allows.

This is given by beam width = 1.22 times the wavelength of light divided by the radius of the output beam aperture. The antennae gain is proportional to the reciprocal of the beam width squared. To achieve the potential diffraction limited beam width a single mode high beam quality laser source is required; together with very high quality optical components throughout the transmitting sub system. The possible antennae gain restricted not only by the laser source but also by the any of the optical elements. In order to communicate, adequate power must be received by the detector,  to distinguish the signal from the noise. Laser power, transmitter, optical system losses, pointing system imperfections, transmitter and receiver antennae gains, receiver losses, receiver tracking losses are factors in establishing receiver power. The required optical power is determined by data rate, detector sensitivity, modulation format ,noise and detection methods.

CONCLUSION

The implementation of any of these systems in an inter-satellite link will require a substantial development effort. The strengths and weaknesses of the various types of lasers presently available for laser communications should be carefully considered. Based on existing laser’s characteristics, the GaAlAs system, especially the full-bandwidth, direct detection system is the most attractive for inter satellite links because of its inherent simplicity ant the expected high level of technological development. The system and component technology necessary for successful inter satellite link exists today. The growing requirements for the efficient and secure communications has led to an increased interest in the operational deployment of laser cross-links for commercial and military satellite systems in both low earth and geo-synchronous orbits. With the dramatic increase in the data handling requirements for satellite communication services, laser inter satellite links offer an attractive alternative to RF with virtually unlimited potential and an unregulated spectrum.

LASER APPLICATIONS

1.In Laser Range Finder

To knock down an enemy tank, it is necessary to range it very accurate!y. Because of its high intensity and very low divergence even after travelling quite a few kilometres, laser is ideally suited for this purpose. The laser range finders using neodymium and carbon dioxide lasers have become a standard item for artillery and tanks. These laser range finders are light weight and  have higher reliability and superior range accuracy as compared to the conventional range finders.

The laser range finder works on the principle of a radar. It makes use of the characteristic properties of the laser beam, namely, monochromaticity, high intensity, coherency, and directionality. A collimated pulse of the laser beam is directed towards a target and the reflected 1ight from the target is received by an optical system and detected. The time taken by the laser beam for the to and fro travel from the transmitter to the target is measured. When half of the time thus recorded is multiplied by the velocity of light, the product gives the range, i.e., the distance of the target.

The laser range finder is superior to microwave radar as the former provides better collimation or directivity which makes high angular  resolution possible. Also, it has the advantage of  greater radiant brightness and  the fact that this   brightness is highly directional even after travelling  long distances, the size of the emitting system is  greatly reduced. The high monochromaticity permits the use of optical band pass filter in the receiver circuit to discriminate between the signal and the stray light noise.

2.In Communications

A very useful and interesting application of laser is in the field of communications, which takes advantage of its wide bandwidth and narrow beam width over long distances. The laser beams can be created in a range of wavelengths from the ultraviolet to the infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The colour of the emitted light is relatively not important. The infrared region is preferred by the military, as it is more difficult to detect.

The advent of semiconductor lasers has made possible the use of lasers for signal transmission. They are excited directly by electric cur-rent to yield a laser beam in the invisible infrared region. A particular aspect of laser transmission, which makes it preferable to the ordinary radio waves for military purposes is the strict secrecy provided by the narrow beam width.

Since no unwanted reception outside the narrow bundles of rays is possible, a high degree of secrecy can be maintained between two points, and thus, an interception-proof communication network can be realised. Besides, laser communication system is immune from jamming and from interference by spurious radio noise.
The optical laser has a great potential for use in long distance communication. Since the capacity of a communication channel is proportional to the frequency band width, at optical frequencies, the information carrying capacity is many times more than that is possible at lower frequencies.  This and the fact that the laser is a generator of highly coherent beams which are powerful and sharply directed, make it ideally suited for communications.

In this regard, microwave technique offers direct competition to the laser as it has been  perfected already to a high degree. Moreover, the optical frequency waves suffer a considerable disadvantage in case of atmospheric transmission  since they are attenuated considerably by snow fog, and rain. Therefore, the laser communication   through the atmospheric medium is effective only in  clear weather conditions, with no obstacles interrupting the beam between the transmitting and the receiving stations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.google.com
2. www.electronicsforu.com
3. www.wikipedia.com