Experimental Study on PAT System for Long-Distance Laser Communications Between Fixed-Wing Aircrafts

• 来源期刊: 光子传感器（英文版）
• 关键词: PAT system laser communications airborne platform coarse tracking error fine tracking error
• 年，卷（期）: 2019,（2）
• 页码范围: 170-178
• 页数: 9页
• 语种: 英文
• DOI: 10.1007/s13320-018-0522-9

摘要

Free-space laser communication is characterized by high communication speed,strong anti-jamming ability,high confidentiality,and flexible configuration.In this paper,a pointing,acquisition,and tracking (PAT) system based on a two-stage (i.e.,coarse and fine) composite tracking mechanism is proposed to solve the optical axis alignment problem,which is common in free-space laser communications.The acquisition probability of the PAT system is ensured by designing two tracking modules,a coarse tracking module which combines passive damping with active suppression and a fine tracking module based on an electromagnetic galvanometer.Both modules are combined by using a dynamic scanning mechanism based on the gyroscope signal.Finally,a free-space laser communication test with a long range and a high speed is conducted by two fixed-wing Y12 aircrafts equipped with the proposed PAT system.Experimental results show that the coarse tracking precision of the airborne PAT system is 10 μrad (lσ),and the fine tracking precision is 8 μrad (lσ) during flights which are much improved as compared with the indoor tests.This indicates that the system can achieve a high precision for PAT during high-speed and long-range laser communications in the free-space.This also verifies the tracking capability and the environmental adaptability of the proposed laser communication PAT system.