High-Speed Deep Space Optical Communication

Next-generation communication systems strive to achieve high speed, spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, and low latency. However, these objectives are met with various research challenges, the primary limitation being the increasingly severe scarcity of radio frequency (RF) spectrum. To achieve spectral relief, new technologies are being developed to offload data traffic from existing RF systems. One potential solution is to use the unregulated bandwidth (BW) in the optical spectrum, which has garnered recently significant interest, driven by advances in solid state lightening (SSL) that have created opportunities to reuse optical beams to deliver wireless data capacity through free-space optical communication (FSO) communication systems such as Deep space optical communications (DSOC). Yet, challenges such as atmospheric conditions, channel turbulence, long transmission ranges, and lack of line-of-sight (LOS) connections hinder reliable and high-speed DSOC implementation. Hence, this project proposal aims to introduce advanced and efficient solutions to enable cost-effective, reliable, and high-speed DSOC links. It involves characterizing the free-space channel, adapting transmission techniques, evaluating a novel modulation method, and assessing the newly developed Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) technology. Our recently published US patent describes the innovative modulation scheme that we plan to implement in this project to enhance the performance of DSOC systems. Additionally, we plan to utilize a channel modeling method demonstrated in our newly published IEEE standard to accurately characterize the DSOC channels. Furthermore, the potential of RIS technology in significantly improving the performance of wireless communication systems is highly esteemed, owing to its potential advantages that may lead to a remarkable breakthrough in the DSOC domain. Thus, the proposed research activities hold the potential to yield numerous scientific papers in high-impact journals and conferences like IEEE Xplore, Optical Society of America (OSA), and Elsevier. By addressing challenges and advancing DSOC, this project aims to contribute to the development of reliable and high-speed communication systems in a cost-effective manner.