Design considerations of a submarine laser communications system

It is pointed out that the US Navy appears to be ready to initiate the development of an optical communication system between satellites and submarines. This system will operate in the blue/green region of the spectrum. A great deal of the pat work has been to develop the critical components that will allow operations through clouds and water to submarines at depth, and to determine some of the key environment quantities that will be encountered. The author shows how the theoretical efforts in the area of optical communications must be merged with the practical limitations that will occur under operational conditions. He goes through a sample design of such a system, taking into account the theory, the components, the environment, and sample requirements. It is noted that direct detection communications are the most desirable in the atmospheric and marine optical scatter channels.<>