Mitigation of Scintillation in FSOC Using RSOA-Based Spectrum-Sliced Incoherent Light

Abstract

We propose and experimentally demonstrate the mitigation of adverse effects of scintillation using a spectrum-sliced incoherent light source based on gain-saturated reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers (RSOAs). This incoherent light source, originally developed for the cost-effective realization of wavelength-division-multiplexed passive optical networks, employs RSOAs for both data modulation and the suppression of large excess intensity noise inherent in incoherent light sources. We show through experiment that this incoherent light source is effective in suppressing the power fluctuations induced by scintillation when compared to a coherent light source, and thus improves the receiver sensitivity of free-space optical communication systems under weak atmospheric turbulence.