Analysis of atmospheric turbulence and vibration impact on the performance of satellite–ground laser communication beam

Abstract

AbstractWith satellite laser communication, advantages can be achieved in high communication rate, precise beam pointing, high confidentiality, and light‐small terminal. Satellite–ground (SG) laser links also play a crucial role as trunk links. However, the SG link is influenced by atmospheric turbulence and platform vibration, these two factors will cause unstable link tracking. This paper focuses on the viewpoint of beam energy transmission, using the low‐frequency harmonic phase compensating method to establish the random phase screen. On the basis of this model, the laser beam energy distribution and the spot mass positioning error are analyzed considering turbulence taking vibration which is not considered in previous studies. The simulation results show that the spot mass center (SMC) is impressionable in strong turbulence under platform vibration, but in a weak turbulent environment, SMC is insensitive to vibration when turbulence and vibration are at the same noise level.