NKT Photonics utilizes fiber lasers to achieve deep space communication links

On July 7, the European Space Agency (ESA), established Europe’s first deep-space optical communication link with NASA’s Psyche mission using a high-power fiber laser system supplied by NKT Photonics, a subsidiary of Hamamatsu.
NKT’s announcement stated, “This achievement, conducted with NASA/JPL’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) demonstrator, marks a significant leap forward in high-data-rate communication across vast interplanetary distances.”

ESA’s multi-beam high-power fiber laser transmission system

The link is the result of collaboration between ESA, NASA/JPL, and a consortium of including NKT Photonics. The major technical challenges that were overcome have created a laser with enough power to be detected at extremely large distances, a pointing system with enough precision to aim accurately at the spacecraft an equally precise receiver system sensitive enough to detect the extremely faint return signals.

In collaboration with Swiss General Atomics Synopta, NKT Photonics supplied the multi-beam high-power fiber laser system, and the beam transmit system. The laser system emits a narrow-linewidth, modulated signal so that the distant spacecraft can precisely locate the ground station and lock onto it, establishing an optical link for high-speed data downlink.

ESA’s Ultima project

Located at the Kryoneri Observatory in Greece, the transmitter generates a multi-kilowatt beam capable of detection by the DSOC flight transceiver onboard the Psyche spacecraft, currently 265 million km distant, en route to the metal-rich 16 Psyche asteroid.

Laser system
The core of the laser system is based on NKT Photonics’ Koheras single-frequency fiber laser platform. The base for the configuration is an Acoustik line card sub-rack housing the Basik Y10 seed laser, a Boostik pre-amplifier as well as both AOM and EOM line cards used for spectral pre-conditioning and high frequency amplitude modulation. A splitter sends the signal to the five Boostik UHP high power amplifiers to bring the power up to the kW level needed to reach the spacecraft.

The bespoke amplifiers are based on NKT Photonics’ core fiber amplifier technology, also used in their directed energy activities but modified to enable high speed power modulation from 0 to 2 kW in less than 10 µs. Finally, a bespoke timing module line card provides all the timing and synchronization waveforms for the various beacon and data-uplink scenarios including the modem interface.

The beam transmit system’s precision allows it to point with arcsecond precision to the spacecraft, enabling both a beacon for accurate downlink and the potential to uplink data, providing a glimpse into the future of deep space communication.

Mike Yarrow, Senior Engineering Manager at NKT Photonics, said, “Our expertise in fiber laser technology has allowed us to contribute to a system that pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in free space optical communications. This project not only showcases our ability to deliver unprecedented power and precision to meet our customers’ stringent requirements but also reinforces our commitment to forging successful collaborations and advancing knowledge to benefit society as a whole.”

Source: optics.org