Giulio Terrasanta, Marcin Wojciech Ziarko, Nicola Bergamasco, Menno Poot, Juraj Poliak
Optical satellite communications provide high-data rates with compact and power efficient payloads that can solve the bottlenecks of RF technologies. Photonic integrated circuits have the potential to reduce the cost, size, weight, and power consumption of satellite laser communications terminals, by integrating all the required photonic components on a chip. This can be achieved by leveraging on the mature technology for fiber communications. In this article, the technology status of photonic integrated circuits for optical satellite link is reviewed. Different material platforms are compared, with a focus on high-speed coherent optical communications. The integration of the photonic chip into a communications payload is discussed, together with possible challenges and opportunities. The impact of the space environment, especially the one of radiation, on the performance of the integrated photonic devices is reviewed and discussed.
{"title":"Photonic Integrated Circuits for Optical Satellite Links: A Review of the Technology Status and Space Effects","authors":"Giulio Terrasanta, Marcin Wojciech Ziarko, Nicola Bergamasco, Menno Poot, Juraj Poliak","doi":"10.1002/sat.1552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sat.1552","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Optical satellite communications provide high-data rates with compact and power efficient payloads that can solve the bottlenecks of RF technologies. Photonic integrated circuits have the potential to reduce the cost, size, weight, and power consumption of satellite laser communications terminals, by integrating all the required photonic components on a chip. This can be achieved by leveraging on the mature technology for fiber communications. In this article, the technology status of photonic integrated circuits for optical satellite link is reviewed. Different material platforms are compared, with a focus on high-speed coherent optical communications. The integration of the photonic chip into a communications payload is discussed, together with possible challenges and opportunities. The impact of the space environment, especially the one of radiation, on the performance of the integrated photonic devices is reviewed and discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":50289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking","volume":"43 3","pages":"210-228"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sat.1552","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143889054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christian Roubal, Till Dolejsky, Benjamin Rödiger, Fabian Rein, Jorge Rosano Nonay, René Rüddenklau, Christos Papadopoulos, Christopher Schmidt, Florian Moll
Satellite-based laser communication is an emerging technology that is finding its way from research to industry. Compared to radio frequency (RF) systems, it has a more efficient size, weight, and power budget and, furthermore, is license free. The required space laser terminals can be designed in different sizes, depending on the mission needs. Data rate requirements range from CubeSats with Mb/s to large satellites with Gb/s data rates and sometimes even Tb/s. This enables, for example, the use of high-resolution imagers even in CubeSats or mega-constellation networks with high-rate intersatellite links. Space laser terminals are also necessary for satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which is increasingly important for the development of future quantum-safe networks. In contrast to classical optical links for data transmission, link budget constraints cannot be overcome by simply amplifying the power, but the end-to-end loss needs to be minimized. This is possible with high antenna gains defined by the transmit and receive optics size. Therefore, the optics size of the laser terminal is one of the most important parameters. Building optical terminals with large apertures for use in space is expensive and requires at least a small satellite platform, increasing the cost of development and launch. The New Space approach using a CubeSat platform is a cost-effective alternative because many components can be selected off-the-shelf. This paper reviews developments of laser communication terminals for CubeSats in space to ground and intersatellite scenarios with applications in quantum communications and telecommunications. The systems are selected with respect to clear space deployment, and their core parameters are compared. Special focus and detailed insight are given for the development OSIRIS4CubeSat (O4C).
{"title":"Laser Terminals on CubeSats: Developments for Telecommunications and Quantum Links","authors":"Christian Roubal, Till Dolejsky, Benjamin Rödiger, Fabian Rein, Jorge Rosano Nonay, René Rüddenklau, Christos Papadopoulos, Christopher Schmidt, Florian Moll","doi":"10.1002/sat.1545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sat.1545","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Satellite-based laser communication is an emerging technology that is finding its way from research to industry. Compared to radio frequency (RF) systems, it has a more efficient size, weight, and power budget and, furthermore, is license free. The required space laser terminals can be designed in different sizes, depending on the mission needs. Data rate requirements range from CubeSats with Mb/s to large satellites with Gb/s data rates and sometimes even Tb/s. This enables, for example, the use of high-resolution imagers even in CubeSats or mega-constellation networks with high-rate intersatellite links. Space laser terminals are also necessary for satellite-based Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), which is increasingly important for the development of future quantum-safe networks. In contrast to classical optical links for data transmission, link budget constraints cannot be overcome by simply amplifying the power, but the end-to-end loss needs to be minimized. This is possible with high antenna gains defined by the transmit and receive optics size. Therefore, the optics size of the laser terminal is one of the most important parameters. Building optical terminals with large apertures for use in space is expensive and requires at least a small satellite platform, increasing the cost of development and launch. The New Space approach using a CubeSat platform is a cost-effective alternative because many components can be selected off-the-shelf. This paper reviews developments of laser communication terminals for CubeSats in space to ground and intersatellite scenarios with applications in quantum communications and telecommunications. The systems are selected with respect to clear space deployment, and their core parameters are compared. Special focus and detailed insight are given for the development OSIRIS4CubeSat (O4C).</p>","PeriodicalId":50289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking","volume":"43 3","pages":"133-146"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sat.1545","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143889040","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Delay- and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) enables communication in networks afflicted by long propagation delays and sporadic connectivity. DTN routing techniques such as schedule-aware bundle routing (SABR) exist to route data bundles in deterministic networks, such as those found in deep-space environments, where node contacts are predictable. This article begins with an overview of DTN architecture and SABR. SABR's method of final route selection (forwarding rules) is closely examined. The article then addresses a limitation of SABR whereby the algorithm may overlook parallel channels, leading to network congestion. To mitigate this, an enhancement is proposed. This enhancement aims to optimize data bundle distribution across candidate routes in networks with parallel channels, thus alleviating congestion and enhancing overall network performance. This is achieved with simple modifications to SABR's forwarding rules to avoid the concentration of data bundles on a minority of node contacts. The enhancement is demonstrated through simulations in a reference scenario implemented in DtnSim.
{"title":"A Load-Balancing Enhancement to Schedule-Aware Bundle Routing","authors":"Jason J. Kamps, Filip Palunčić, B. T. Maharaj","doi":"10.1002/sat.1549","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/sat.1549","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Delay- and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) enables communication in networks afflicted by long propagation delays and sporadic connectivity. DTN routing techniques such as schedule-aware bundle routing (SABR) exist to route data bundles in deterministic networks, such as those found in deep-space environments, where node contacts are predictable. This article begins with an overview of DTN architecture and SABR. SABR's method of final route selection (forwarding rules) is closely examined. The article then addresses a limitation of SABR whereby the algorithm may overlook parallel channels, leading to network congestion. To mitigate this, an enhancement is proposed. This enhancement aims to optimize data bundle distribution across candidate routes in networks with parallel channels, thus alleviating congestion and enhancing overall network performance. This is achieved with simple modifications to SABR's forwarding rules to avoid the concentration of data bundles on a minority of node contacts. The enhancement is demonstrated through simulations in a reference scenario implemented in DtnSim.</p>","PeriodicalId":50289,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Satellite Communications and Networking","volume":"43 2","pages":"122-130"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2025-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/sat.1549","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143439087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}