Recent Developments on Free Space Optical

Links and Wavelength Analysis

Thomas Plank, Erich Leitgeb
Institute of Broadband Communications
University of Technology Graz
Graz, Austria
Thomas.Plank@TUGraz.at
Erich.Leitgeb@TUGraz.at
Markus Loeschnigg
EDV-Dienstleistungen GmbH
Graz, Austria
Markus.Loeschnigg@ml11.at


Abstract New results derived from the research in the field of
Free Space Optics (FSO) for the qualification of different
wavelengths with reference to space applications are presented.
At the beginning, a brief introduction to the FSO technology and
the explanation of some performance evaluation criteria is
presented. The main part deals with a thorough discussion of the
different optical wavelengths used either for terrestrial as well as
for near-Earth and deep space FSO links. Some optical signal
propagation experiments through the atmosphere (including the
recent investigations in airborne and satellite application for
FSO) are also shown. Practical results of COST Action IC-0802
are implemented in the modelling of the FSO channel under
deteriorating conditions like rain, snow, dust, fog, clouds and
other atmospheric effects. It is intended to interconnect well-
proved technologies like 850 nm and 1,064 nm wavelength with
new technologies under development like 10 m wavelength.
Quantum Cascade Lasers (QCLs) are currently experiencing a
strong progression. Semiconductor quantum cascade lasers can
operate at various wavelengths between 3 m up to 17 m what
makes them attractive in view of the 10 m technology. Finally,
some recent major performance improvement results obtained
by employing some specific modulation and coding schemes are
presented.
Keywords-component; Free Space Optics; attenuation effects;
coding; modulation; wavelengths; laser safety; channel modelling
I. INTRODUCTION
A typical FSO communication system consists of an optical
transmitter which is a semiconductor device like an LED or a
laser, a modulator and an irradiation device in the most cases
either a telescope or a lens. The receiver is basically composed
of a detector, a decoder (demodulator) and again a telescope or
a lens to collect the arriving optical signal. This signal
propagates through the free space; therefore the free space
represents the link channel. Since the carrier medium is light,
the operating frequencies are very high. This leads on the one
hand to huge potential bandwidths but on the other the
characteristic radio wave propagation requires a direct line-of-
sight. FSO has a lot challenges to face, e.g. atmospheric
conditions degrade the optical link communication both by
attenuation and scintillation. High attenuation and extinction of
the laser beam is caused by small particles as contained in fog
and clouds, with attenuation values of e.g. 30 dB per km and
more [1]. Long wave infrared propagation performs better
compared to shorter optical wavelengths but it still suffers from
a high specific attenuation [2]. On the other hand, rain causes
heavy attenuation for Radio Frequency (RF) links situated in
the Ku-Band and also in higher frequent bands when
frequencies above 10 GHz are used, while optical transmission
with relatively small wavelengths compared to the raindrops is
not severely impacted (typically 3 dB/km) [3]. Currently FSO
is being researched for applications involving ground-to-
ground (short and long distance terrestrial links), satellite
uplink/downlink, inter-satellite communications, deep space
probes to ground, and ground-to-air/air-to-ground terminal
(unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), high altitude platform (HAP)
etc.) [4] In Figure 1. the principle of an optical channel is
shown. Optical communication links are an emerging and
promising technology, with its applications spreading over
many areas of telecommunication both in the commercial and
the military sector. As FSO requires a direct connection
between transmitter and receiver, eavesdropping is hardly
feasible and can be detected in nearly all cases.
II. ATMOSPHERICAL IMPACTS AND LINK AVAILABILITY
The optical channel has to deal with many challenges as
mentioned at the beginning. To paint a picture of these
challenges, performance evaluation criteria are introduced.
A. Attenuation effects
The main attenuation of the optical signal results in the
propagation through the free space because of scattering and

Figure 1. The principle of the FSO channel (modified from [4])

2011 International Conference on Space Optical Systems and Applications
978-1-4244-9684-6/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE 14
absorption effects. Absorption causes an energy degradation of
the photons due to absorbing molecules which leads to a
decreased power density in the received signal. Molecules
absorb energy in discrete quanta, and this process alters the
electronic, vibration, and/or rotation state of the molecule. The
absorption spectrum of molecules therefore consists of a series
of discrete absorption lines. The bands for rotation spectra are
from 10 cm wavelengths to 100 m; vibration spectra are
typically from 100 to 1 m (taken from [5]). To overcome the
limitations of absorption the use of atmospheric transmission
windows is proposed.

Figure 2. Clear air atmospheric transmission windows, picture taken from
[6]
Scattering at optical wavelengths is highly dependent on the
particle size distribution [7]. Scattering can be divided in three
types: Mie scattering, Rayleigh scattering and geometrical
scattering. An optical signal passing through the atmosphere
can also be severely attenuated by clouds. Effective
communications through clouds is not a feasible solution as
cloud attenuation can be upwards of tens of dB in some cases
(e.g., cumulus nimbus) [1]. The multiple scattering effects are
important when a light beam travels through clouds. Optical
beam propagating through the atmosphere is impaired by
different weather conditions. Scintillation is affecting optical
wireless links in the way of as changing light intensities in time
and space at the plane of a receiver detecting the signal from a
transmitter [8]. The received signal level at the detector
fluctuates quickly at frequencies ranging between 0.01 and 200
Hz due to thermally induced changes in the index of refraction
of the air along the transmit path [9]. The index changes cause
the atmosphere to act like a collection of small prisms and
lenses that deflect the light beam into and out of the transmit
path. The result is that a FSO receiver can experience error
bursts due to surges and fades in the receive signal strength.
The size of these prisms (Randomly distributed cells produced
under the influence of thermal turbulence inside the
propagation medium) is variable (10 cm 1 km) and differs in
temperature [5].
B. Communication technology methods
In order to apply specific techniques of an electrical modem
design to the different optical domain; a transfer of RF
principles to optical free space links is required. Conventional
modem design for the electrical channel cannot be applied to
the wireless optical intensity channel due to channel
constraints. Information transmission is realized by generating
a physical signal and varying it through time. This signal is
influenced along its channel, as described in the previous
section A. Some distortions are deterministically and some are
randomly occurring. Several ways exist how to imprint the data
onto the laser beam. It is possible to modulate the amplitude,
the frequency, the phase and last but not least the polarization.
For FSO links the prevailing methods include on-off-keying
(OOK), differential-phase-shift-keying (DPSK), phase-shift-
keying (PSK), and orthogonal modulation formats such as M-
ary pulse-position modulation (M-PPM) and frequency-shift-
keying (M-FSK). At TU Graz a research focus is in the field of
modulation and coding schemes. Concerning space or even
deep space links, an important point to stress is the resistance
of PPM against background radiation. High power efficiency is
achieved at the expense of a reduced bandwidth. The next
figure is an illustration about the performance of PPM at
different PPM levels.

Figure 3. 2-PPM, 16-PPM and 256-PPM RS coded performance comparison
[10]
Simulations have shown that RS coded PPM with a
(255,127) code is quite a robust choice under most operating
conditions. It performs very well in the vast majority of
possible scenarios and under ambient light conditions a gain of
25 dB as compared to the current technology of uncoded 2-
level modulation schemes is promised (Figure 3. [10]. When
PPM is compared with OOK, the average power requirement
reads:

M M P
P
OOK
PPM
2
log
2
= (1)
where M is one subinterval of a symbol interval; it is also
called the grade or order of the PPM. Less optical power is
required when M exceeds 2. The PPM signalling scheme fits
well to the Reed-Solomon code family because its alphabet
size can be easily adapted to match the PPM order.
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For the already in [1] mentioned limitation Effective
communications through clouds is not a feasible solution
some studies and research tried to show that there are
workarounds existing additionally to the benefits of coding
and modulation. One solution is to switch to a different
wavelength which is for example less influenced by clouds as
stated in a latter chapter. Yet it seems that wavelength
switching is not enough to keep a reliable link through the
atmosphere alive. Other techniques must be taken into account.
The most promising approach as a result of an ESA study
would be spatial diversity of optical ground stations (OGS) on
Earth. Hybrid links consisting of optical and RF links (with e.g.
an intelligent switch-over algorithm) were also part of a deeper
consideration. It is a practical idea but for the expense of all
pros and cons of RF technology. Due to seasonal fluctuations
of the cloud coverage, a worldwide network of ground stations
is proposed to ensure reliable FSO links as can be seen in
Figure 4.

Figure 4. Total fractional cloud cover annual averaged from 1983-1990,
picture taken from [11]
The availability reaches 99% if a network of four
worldwide distributed and independent OGS is in use. TABLE
I. represents the (combined) availabilities (modified from
[12]).
OGS Location Availability in %
Paranal, Observatorio del Teide, Perth,
Skinakas
99
Paranal, Observatorio del Teide, Perth 98
Paranal, Observatorio del Teide 95
Paranal (South America) 84
Skinakas (Europe) 74
Observatorio del Teide (Europe) 71
Perth (Australia) 60
TABLE I. AVAILABILITY OF WORLD WIDE OGS NETWORKS
If Figure 4. is interpreted, it seems that there are several
applicable locations for ground stations, but of course
important parameters like political stability and infrastructure
have to be taken into account. The northern part of Africa is
mostly lacking of mentionable cloud coverage, so does
Greenland, the southern part of Europe and Australia.
III. WAVELENGTH ANALYSIS
The selection of optical wavelengths for FSO systems is
primarily based on the optical transmission windows, eye
safety reasons and of course expenses. The wavelength
selection is dependent on atmospheric effects and on the
availability of receiver and transmitter components. The
question of costs has an impact and the qualification for space
standards acts as design driver as well. On the basis of
atmospheric conditions and laser safety regulations, longer
wavelengths (beyond the dangerous wavelengths for eye
safety) are the preferred option. A crucial parameter in the field
of FSO is the used wavelength (in terms of optics, wavelength
is preferred instead of frequency). The International
Commission on Illumination (CIE, located in Vienna)
recommends a division of optical radiation into three main
bands: IR-A (700 nm 1,400 nm), IR-B (1,400 nm 3,000
nm) and IR-C (3,000 nm 1 mm) [15]. For now, a commonly
used sub-division scheme is introduced.
Near-infrared (NIR): wavelengths from 750 nm 1.4 m;
mainly used in fibre-optics (low attenuation losses).
Short-wavelength infrared (SWIR): wavelengths from
1.4 m 3 m; the range from 1,530 nm 1,560 nm is the
dominant spectral region for long distance telecommunications.
Mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR): wavelengths from 3
m 8 m; used in military applications for guiding missiles.
Long-wavelength infrared (LWIR): wavelengths from 8
m 15 m; thermal imaging region. Sensors can draw
pictures of objects only based on thermal emissions; no further
light is required.
Far-infrared wavelength (FIR): region from 15 m 1
mm.
When talking about laser communications, a very important
point has to be considered: Security constraints particularly
with regard to eye safety issues. The International Electro-
technical Commission and further institutions developed
standards for an eye-safe transmission of optical power. All
laser products are classified in different levels depending on the
greatest possible hazard. Laser classes reach from Class 1
(not dangerous) to Class 4 (very hazardous, emitted power
exceeds 0.5 Watt). The cornea, the outer layer of the eye, acts
like a band-pass filter and passes only wavelengths between
400 nm to 1,400 nm [18]. That means that the energy of
emitted light outside of this region is absorbed and does not
reach the retina. In other words, laser communications with
wavelengths below approximately 400 nm and beyond 1,400
nm have the advantage of possible higher energy densities
within the laser beam. Visible light domain starts at 380 nm
and spreads up to 780 nm. Laser sources operating in this
region can be detected by the eye and it can take
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countermeasures like the normal eye-shut-reflex, but only of
course in certain borders like emitted power and exposure time.
Yet that fact makes other technologies like 1,064 nm so
hazardous because the laser light is still focused directly on the
retina, but it cannot be detected. When a person is exposed to
that kind of irradiation, adverse effects are not excluded. The
characteristic quantity is called Maximum Possible Exposure
(MPE). It specifies a certain level to which a person could be
exposed without any hazardous effect or long term effects like
biological changes within the eye or skin [20]. It depends on
the laser wavelength, the emitted power and the duration of
exposition. In [22] some information how to calculate the MPE
is given. Applied to the selection of feasible wavelengths for
FSO links, it shows that the ancient system (around 850 m)
are basically more dangerous than newer developments like
1,550 nm or even 10 m. In the latter case, there are orders of
magnitude between the dangerous area and this wavelength.
LWIR and 1.55 m systems have a much larger MPE level
compared to NIR. Unless both systems will have the same
safety class, a 1,550 nm FSO system is capable of transmitting
more than ten times the power of a system running at 780 nm
[21]. Besides, LWIR systems can transmit even more power
than the 1,550 nm system. It shouldnt be forgotten that the risk
of concentration of irradiation with collection optics is to be
noted.
In [5] different usable wavelengths for FSO between Earth
and space applications, especially dealing with satellites in the
geostationary orbit, have been evaluated. The first optical
window occurs at 850 nm (NIR, IR-A) and is the first
technique for optical fibres, so cheapest and best evaluated
components should be available. Within SILEX (Semi-
Conductor Intersatellite Link Experiment) [13] some 850 nm
components have been installed. The material for
semiconductor lasers operating at this wavelength is
aluminium-gallium (AlGa). Diode lasers are able to reach high
efficiencies up to nearly 50 % [14]. The second optical
window is situated in the area around 1,300 nm and is cheaper
in terms of expenses compared to 1,550 nm which represents
the third optical window. In FSO it is very important to
consider laser and eye safety standards; therefore 1,5xx nm is
preferred. Moreover 1,300 nm technology only plays a
subordinate role in FSO. In case of 1,064 nm, some recent
studies and projects have passed. ROSA (RF Optical System
study for Aurora) [16] was done throughout 2007 and 2008;
DOLCE (Deep Space Optical Link Communications
Experiment) [17] was performed in 2007. DOLCE did not use
exactly 1,064 nm but 1,058 nm. Both studies simulated high
distances under the adapted use of link establishing
components. DOLCE simulated 1,500,000 (distance to the
Lagrangian Point L2. ROSA simulated approximately
400,000,000 km the distance from Earth to Mars. The real
distance was 142 km; the experiment took place on the Canary
Islands between Tenerife and La Palma in the Atlantic Ocean.
The successful completion of both experiments was published
in literature. The prevailing laser type for 1,064 nm wavelength
is an Nd:YAG (neodymium yttrium aluminium garnet) laser.
These lasers are capable of transmitting huge amounts of
power and are used for coherent systems with highly stable
Nd:YAG oscillators, a laser source with very good coherence
and therefore suitable for homodyne systems. The
implementation of homodyne binary phase-shift keying
(BPSK) modulation is enabled due to these properties. The
advantage of these systems is the high sensitivity which leads
to small aperture diameters for the optical receivers [5]. An
additional experiment using a carrier wavelength of 1,064 nm
has been successfully run in space. The German company
TESAT established a high data-rate link (5.6 Gigabit per
second) between two satellites situated in a LEO (low Earth
orbit), NFIRE (U.S.) and TerraSAR-X (Germany). In fibre-
optical transmission systems the wavelengths around 1,550 nm
combined with OOK and direct detection are commonly used.
The wavelengths belong to the optical C-Band and are a decent
solution for space links too. Current systems are not as
sensitive as coherent systems but the use of fast wave-front
correction systems (adaptive optics) to mitigate atmospheric
index of refraction turbulence would allow coupling of the
received signal into a mono-mode fibre at the receiver. An
additional advantage is high components availability for the
development of WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing)
FSO systems or Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing
(DWDM) technology. DWDM increases the number of
wavelength or channels combined onto a single fibre. Enabling
this approach for free space optics would allow the use of
integrated fibre optics off the shelf components. This allows
higher OGS beacon powers. The reduced background light
from celestial bodies, clouds and Earth albedo pleads for the
use of 1.5 nm. Reduced blinding of tracking sensors thus
allows sensors with a wider field-of-view [23].
A switch to 10 m technology leads to the LWIR area of
the optical band. Although the use of these wavelengths was
already in the 1980s, evolving interest was encountered in
recent years. One reason for can be found in accelerated
advances in quantum cascade lasers (QCL) as well as the
progress in mercury cadmium telluride photo-diodes and
quantum well infrared photo-detectors [24]. Thereby a laser
source for emitting radiation at this particular wavelength
exists for a longer time. It is the CO
2
laser, often operating at
10.6 m but in some cases also at 9.4 m. Experiments have
shown that it is very difficult to run an FSO link with this laser
type. The cooling is not trivial and it is not easy to tune the
laser. In case of efficiency (output power to pump power) it
does better. Quantum cascade laser sources have drastically
improved in price and performance. They belong to the family
of semiconductor lasers and emit light in the MWIR to the FIR
spectrum. Their first demonstration was in 1994 at the Bell
Laboratories. QCLs score with excellent lifetime. Power
outputs by built copies in excess of 180 mW were
demonstrated. If the expected device improvements go on, the
next step is an output power of even 500 mW. LWIR sources
having a wavelength of 8 m 10 m can operate at room
temperature. The cooler device can be realized by a solid state
thermoelectric cooler. It helps to ensure reliable heat
dissipation. The modulation of QCLs happens directly. Some
problems like extinction ratio and limited bandwidth are
removed by the use of QCLs.
The main motivation in a move towards MWIR or LWIR
systems are physical propagation advantages like reduced light
scattering as explained before. Under diminishing conditions
like fog or clouds longer wavelengths could help in gaining a
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higher throughput and increasing link availability. The
attenuation due to fog happens because of absorption and
scattering of the beam propagating through the water particles.
Fog is characterized by a number of physical parameters such
as particle size distribution, liquid water content, fog
temperature and humidity. Since the size of fog particles is
comparable to the transmission wavelength of optical and near
infrared waves, it causes attenuation due to Mie scattering,
which in turn reduces availability for considerable amount of
time [26]. For a detailed description of laser radiation
attenuated by fog respectively clouds the first step is to find a
connection between some physical parameters. In that case it is
important to link liquid water content, particle concentration
and visibility. A relationship is given in [25]:
( ) ( )( ) 1 2 5 , 0
912 , 3
2
2
+ +

=
q q a F V
q
PC
m
t
(2)
( ) q F V
q a
LWC
m
m

+
=
5 , 0 3
) 3 ( ) 4 ( 912 , 3 p
(3)
whereas:
PC......... particle concentration
LWC..... liquid water content
V
m
......... visibility
q............ half width of gamma distribution (of -function)
a............ most-likely radius of particles
F(0,5).... effective attenuation factor for wavelength = 0.5 m
m
p ....... water density
The liquid water content and the particle concentration may
vary although there is no change in the visibility. At the same
visibility it is possible to have different values regarding
particle concentration and liquid water content. Based on an
empirical developed formula, the attenuation factor caused by
scattering can be approximated:

m
V
m
scat
V

|
.
|

\
|
=
195 , 0
55 , 0 17

o (4)
whereas:
......... wavelength
The visibility correlates with the distance a human eye can
see. This formula can be used to give a rough estimation about
the attenuation caused by scattering. In Figure 5. the
calculation results retrieved by (4) for four different
wavelengths are presented. Generally speaking the scattering
on smaller wavelengths has a larger impact than on larger
wavelengths.

Figure 5. Wavelength attenuation in dependence of visibility
IV. CHANNEL MODELLING
In order to acquire a deeper understanding of the FSO
channel, it is a good idea to implement a channel model. This
model is preferable realized in software, because then it should
be easy to implement adoptions or extensions. Channel
modelling for FSO systems is an issue of considerable
complexity due to the variety of impairments possible and the
disagreement over the mathematical modelling of the various
phenomena. The first version of a model was established at TU
Graz in the year 2005 [27]. This software application, which
allows the examination and comparison of impairments such as
fog, rain, snow and turbulence, has been developed with the
help of the software package MATLAB. The employed
algorithms are based on proven mathematical models and the
simulations show a very close match to the mathematical
descriptions. Two different models (Kim and Kruse) have been
implemented to consider the effects of fog. Influences with
minor impact on short distance FSO transmissions are further
discussed but not covered by computer models. One year later
in 2006, this model got extended with the influence of solar
radiation, both direct sunlight and solar background radiation.
It is important to have this distinction, because the impact on
the receive power is nearly the same, but there are great
differences in the magnitude.
During 2010, the development work for a new channel
model has started. The goal was to employ some
meteorological-statistical data. The ERA-15 weather database
was included in the program which provides the atmospheric
parameters for the chosen time and location that are needed for
a certain calculation. Thus a very realistic simulation of an
optical link between ground stations and for example satellites
should be achieved. Any transmission is simulated by the
model and the attenuation that appears along the path is
calculated. ERA-15 database was a project of the European
Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). It
started in 1993 and ended in 1996. The outcome was an
attempted reconstruction of meteorological data over 15 years.
It resulted in a series of Atmospherical parameters. The ERA-
15 record holds 52 different parameters beginning with wind
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velocity and temperature up to humidity. Also data sets like
water vapour content and pressure are available. A
considerable improvement is the division of the atmosphere
into several horizontal layers. The thickness of each layer is
determined by a parameter of the ERA-15 database. The output
is prepared in two different ways: numerically and graphically.
Figure 6. demonstrates the user interface created with the
MATLAB GUI builder.

Figure 6. Graphical User Interface of the channel model
A sample output of this tool is displayed in Figure 8. The
time was set to June 10
th
in 1992 at midday. Three different
locations (already built in the program) were selected: Graz,
Milano and Nice. The used wavelength was chosen with 1,550
nm. On the x-axes one can find the losses in dB and on the y-
axis the height is applied. The numerical output is illustrated in
Figure 7.

Figure 7. Numerical output of the channel model
V. CONCLUSIONS
Beginning with the basics of FSO, a picture until detailed
wavelength analysis was drawn. The challenges an FSO link
either for terrestrial or (deep) space applications has to face
have been shown. Modulation and coding techniques to ensure
reliable links were presented. Different additional methods like
site diversity have been taken under a closer inspection. A very
important point is the laser and eye safety. The shorter
wavelengths are more restricted in laser power than the longer
wavelengths. Also attenuations caused by scattering have a
lesser impact for longer wavelengths. 10 m technology
sounds promisingly, but research in this field is going on and is
absolutely necessary. Finally the motivation and the need for
the development of an FSO channel model were explained.

Figure 8. Output plots of the channel model
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