Survey on acquisition, tracking and pointing (ATP) systems and beam profile correction techniques in FSO communication systems

Abstract

Abstract Free space optical (FSO) communication has shown promising advantages among other wireless schemes. It provides a very high data rate, freedom from licensing, low cost of deployment and requires low power. FSO is a technology that has undergone rapid development over the last several years. These communication systems are a line-of-sight technology in which information is transmitted through the atmosphere on modulated laser beams or light-emitting diode (LED) beams. When FSO technology was first introduced, it was seen as an attractive option to bridge the “last mile bottleneck” that is present in many of today’s optical fiber-based networks. As compared to existing radio frequency (RF) based wireless systems, this technology possesses multiple advantages, such as high bandwidth, license-free band use, long operational range, spatial reusability, security and immunity to electromagnetic interference. The narrow and directional characteristics of a laser beam employed in FSO enable spatial reuse and make it hard to eavesdrop, thus raising the level of security. The use of light as carrier in this technology provides immunity to electromagnetic interference. Despite its many advantages, this technology is susceptible to some weather conditions, such as fog, rain, sleet and snow, and to misalignment of transmitter–receiver terminals. Atmospheric conditions will impair the propagation of an optical signal because the propagation of light may undergo absorption and scattering. Pointing error caused by misalignment of the transceivers is another major challenge in FSO communication system. The pointing error may result in degradation or even total loss of the received signal. This error may arise because of transceiver sway, platform vibration, the motion of mobile stations, errors or uncertainties in the tracking system. Another type of pointing error is beam wandering caused by the in-homogeneity of large-scale eddies in the atmosphere (i.e., atmospheric turbulence), where the transmitted beam may deviate from its intended path. This survey paper focuses on the systems involved in the alignment of the transmitter and the receiver so that the maximum amount of power is collected by the receiver and the analysis of beam profile in various atmospheric conditions and their mitigation methods.