The present invention relates to a spatial optical communication receiver for performing spatial optical communication by mounting a transceiver on a moving object such as an aircraft or a satellite.
As a means for implementing large-capacity spatial communication, spatial optical communication is used using light in a wavelength band of 1.5 μm or 1.0 μm. In spatial optical communication, the wavelength of light as a carrier is shorter than that in conventional wireless communication, and downsizing can be expected of a transceiver including an optical antenna, that is, a telescope. In addition, since the beam diversity can be suppressed small and light can be transmitted efficiently, low power consumption can be expected.
In spatial optical communication, it is necessary to point the telescope at the corresponding transceiver, but when the transceiver is mounted on a moving object such as an aircraft or satellite, an error occurs in the pointing angle of the telescope, and optical coupling loss occurs. To address this problem, a pointing mirror is used for compensating for the angular error at high speed. To control the pointing mirror, a sensor is required for detecting the angular error of the optical signal incident on the telescope, and it is necessary to input light partially distributed from the received light, or beacon light having a wavelength different from that of the signal light to the sensor.
In addition, light propagated in the atmosphere is affected by the atmosphere, and the wavefront of the light is distorted. Considering the case of performing coherent detection, it is necessary to couple received light to a single mode fiber (SMF) that is an input port of a coherent receiver. When the wavefront is distorted, coupling loss occurs, and there is a problem that a signal-to-noise power ratio (SNR) is degraded. To solve the problem, it has been performed that distortion of the wavefront is detected by a wavefront sensor, and compensation for the wavefront distortion by a deformable mirror (DM) is performed (for example, see Non-Patent Literature 1).
However, when the beacon light having a wavelength different from that of the signal light is used as in the conventional technique, it is necessary to perform wavelength multiplexing of the beacon light in the transmitter, and there has been a problem that the configuration on the transmission side is complicated. In addition, a sensor for detecting the angular error is necessary in the reception side. Further, to detect the distortion of the wavefront with the wavefront sensor, it is necessary to use a beacon signal having a different wavelength from that of the signal light, and when the beacon light having a wavelength different from that of the signal light is used, it is necessary to perform wavelength multiplexing of the beacon light in the transmitter as described above, and there has been a problem that the configuration is inevitably complicated.
The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a spatial optical communication receiver enabled to suppress degradation of the signal-to-noise power ratio and complication of the configuration, and to perform stable spatial optical communication.
A spatial optical communication receiver according to the present invention includes: a telescope for focusing an optical signal spatially propagated and outputting the optical signal collimated; a pointing mirror for compensating for an angle shift of the optical signal output from the telescope; a focusing optical system for focusing the optical signal from the pointing mirror; a multi-core fiber having a plurality of cores for transmitting the optical signal focused; a splitter for outputting optical signals of each core transmitted by the multi-core fiber through different single mode fibers for each core; coherent detectors for performing coherent detection on the optical signals from each single mode fiber; and a digital signal processing unit for decoding digital signals of the signals subjected to the coherent detection, in which the digital signal processing unit includes an adaptive equalizer for performing multi-input and single-output equalization, a phase compensation unit for compensating for a phase of a signal from the adaptive equalizer, a decoding unit for decoding the signal phase-compensated, a power monitor for outputting a monitored value of power corresponding to each of the cores, and an angle shift detecting unit for outputting an angle shift signal indicating a value of the angle shift of the optical signal input to the focusing optical system by using the monitored value, and the pointing mirror updates a compensation angle correspondingly to the angle shift signal.
The spatial optical communication receiver according to the present invention performs coherent detection on the optical signal transmitted by using the multi-core fiber, and performs decoding with the digital signal processing unit. The digital signal processing unit detects the angle shift of the optical signal input to the focusing optical system, and the pointing mirror updates the compensation angle correspondingly to the angle shift, so that degradation of the signal-to-noise power ratio and complication of the configuration can be suppressed, and stable spatial optical communication can be performed.
Hereinafter, to explain the present invention in more detail, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The illustrated spatial optical communication receiver includes a telescope 101, a pointing mirror (PM) 102, a focusing optical system 103, a multi-core fiber (MCF) 104, a splitter 105, single mode fibers (SMFs) 106, a local light source 107, coherent detectors 108, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) 109, and a digital signal processing unit (digital analog processer (DSP)) 110. The telescope 101 is configured to focus an optical signal spatially propagated and output the optical signal collimated. The pointing mirror 102 is a mirror for compensating for an angle shift of the optical signal output from the telescope 101, and is configured to change an angle of output light by compensating for the angle shift with a signal of the angle shift detected by the digital signal processing unit 110 as an input. The focusing optical system 103 is an optical system for focusing the input collimated light near the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104. The multi-core fiber 104 is an optical fiber having two or more cores for transmitting the optical signal focused by the focusing optical system 103, and the cores are arranged substantially uniformly in the cladding as illustrated in
The splitter 105 is configured to split and output the optical signal propagated through the cores in the multi-core fiber 104 to each different single mode fiber 106. The single mode fibers 106 are single mode optical fibers. The local light source 107 is a light source for outputting the same optical signals to the coherent detectors 108. The plurality of coherent detectors 108 are provided respectively corresponding to the single mode fibers 106, and each is a detector for outputting an electric signal by performing coherent detection by causing the optical signal input through a corresponding one of the single mode fibers 106 to interfere with the optical signal from the local light source 107. The plurality of analog-to-digital converters 109 is provided respectively corresponding to the coherent detectors 108, and each converts an analog signal, which is an electric signal from a corresponding one of the coherent detectors 108, to a digital signal. The digital signal processing unit 110 is a processing unit for decoding the digital signal converted by each of the analog-to-digital converters 109, and its internal configuration is illustrated in
In
In addition, the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205 in the digital signal processing unit 110 each may be a dedicated hardware, or may be configured by using a central processing unit (CPU) (note that, also referred to as a central processing device, a processing device, an arithmetic device, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or a processor) for executing a program stored in a memory.
When the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205 each are the dedicated hardware, examples thereof include a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel-programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof. The units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205 each may be implemented by a specific processing circuit, or functions of each unit may be collectively implemented by a processing circuit.
When the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205 are implemented by using the CPU, these functional units are implemented by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware.
The illustrated circuit includes a CPU 301, a memory 302, an input/output interface (I/F) 303, and a bus 304. Here, the CPU 301 is a processor for implementing the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205 by executing a program corresponding to the functions of the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205. The memory 302 is a memory for storing the program corresponding to the functions of the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205, and is, for example, a nonvolatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EPROM, or an EEPROM; a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disc, a mini disc, a DVD, and or like. The input/output interface 303 is an interface for exchanging signals with the outside of the device. The bus 304 is a communication path for connecting the units from the CPU 301 to the input/output interface 303 to each other.
Note that, some of the functional units of the units from the adaptive equalizer 201 to the angle shift detecting unit 205 may be implemented by dedicated hardware, and the other functional units may be implemented by software or firmware. For example, it is possible that the functions of the adaptive equalizer 201, the phase compensation unit 202, and the decoding unit 203 are implemented by dedicated hardware, and the functions of the power monitor 204 and the angle shift detecting unit 205 are implemented by the CPU 301 reading and executing the program stored in the memory 302.
As described above, the functional units constituting the digital signal processing unit 110 can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof.
Next, the operation will be described of the spatial optical communication receiver of the first embodiment.
When an optical signal spatially propagated is input to the telescope 101, the telescope 101 focuses and collimates the optical signal (step ST101). Next, the pointing mirror 102 compensates for an angle shift of the optical signal (step ST102). The optical signal from the pointing mirror 102 is focused by the focusing optical system 103 (step ST103), is input to the multi-core fiber 104, and propagates in the multi-core fiber 104 (step ST104). Thereafter, the optical signal is split by the splitter 105 into signals of each core (step ST105), and the signals are caused to interfere with the local light from the local light source 107 by the coherent detectors 108, whereby coherent detection is performed (step ST106). Next, analog signals from the coherent detectors 108 are converted to digital signals by the analog-to-digital converters 109 (step ST107). Two processes are performed on the digital signals in parallel in the digital signal processing unit 110. In one process, the digital signals corresponding to each core are synthesized by the adaptive equalizer 201 (step ST108), compensation for the phase difference is performed by the phase compensation unit 202 (step ST109), and determination and decoding are performed by the decoding unit 203 (step ST110). In the other process, the power monitor 204 monitors power from the digital signals corresponding to each core (step ST111), and the angle shift detecting unit 205 detects an angular error (step ST112).
First, the one process (steps ST108 to ST110) will be described.
Here, when the multi-core fiber 104 having N cores is used, signals of two polarized waves orthogonal to each other are input to the adaptive equalizer 201 correspondingly to each of the core, so that inputs are 2N complex signals. The adaptive equalizer 201 includes 2N FIR filters having, for example, complex coefficients, and the 2N inputs are added together after passing through each individual FIR filter. Filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201 are adaptively updated according to the input signals. For example, a constant envelope algorithm is used for the update.
Now, a case is considered where the adaptive equalizer 201 includes an FIR filter operating with one sample/symbol and having a length of M taps. When tap coefficients of the FIR filter corresponding to the i-th core are hix(m) and hiy(m) (m=1, 2, . . . , M), and an X polarized wave component is EiX(k) and a Y polarized wave component is EiY(k) of the k-th symbol corresponding to the i-th core input to the adaptive equalizer 201, and an output is EOUT(k), a relationship of expression (1) is obtained.
Next, the other process (steps ST111 and ST112) will be described.
The power monitor 204 monitors the power coupled to each of the cores from amplitude values of two polarized waves orthogonal to each other of the signal corresponding to each of the cores. Signal power Pi corresponding to the i-th core is represented by expression (2), where amplitudes of the X polarized wave and Y polarized wave orthogonal to each other are Eix and Eiy.
P
i
=|E
iX|2+|Eir|2 (2)
As illustrated in
When a focal length of the focusing optical system 103 is f, an angle shift θx in the x direction and an angle shift θy in the y direction are calculated by expression (4).
The angle shift detecting unit 205 inputs the calculation result to the pointing mirror 102. That is, in the flowchart of
Next, the effects will be described of the spatial optical communication receiver thus configured.
In the case of the conventional configuration using a single mode fiber instead of a multi-core fiber, if the wavefront incident on the focusing optical system is affected by the atmosphere and distorted, the light intensity distribution at the incident end face of the single mode fiber spreads with respect to the core diameter of the single mode fiber, and causes coupling loss.
On the other hand, when the multi-core fiber 104 is used as in the present embodiment, the optical signal is coupled to a plurality of cores since the plurality of cores are arranged on the incident end face, even when the light intensity distribution spreads. When root mean square amplitudes of a signal component and a noise component corresponding to each of the cores are SRMSi and NRMSi, signal power and noise power of a signal corresponding to one core are (SRMSi)2 and (NRMSi)2, respectively. On the other hand, signal power and noise power of a signal synthesized by the adaptive equalizer 201 are expressed by expressions (5) and (6), respectively.
Thus, the SNR corresponding to one core is expressed by expression (7), whereas the SNR of the signal synthesized by the adaptive equalizer 201 is expressed by expression (8).
If the root mean square (RMS) of the signal component and the noise component of each of the cores is constant, the SNR of the synthesized signal is improved to N times the SNR corresponding to one core.
In addition, in the present embodiment, the angle shift can be detected by the angle shift detecting unit 205 without using a dedicated sensor for detecting the angle shift, loss does not occur due to forwarding of the signal light to the sensor, and the beacon light is not required. Then, since coherent detection with high sensitivity is performed by the coherent detectors 108, it is possible to detect the angle shift even if the received power is small.
The fact that the angle shift can be detected by using the multi-core fiber 104 depends on the fact that the optical signals transmitted through each core of the multi-core fiber 104 are transmitted while maintaining a physical positional relationship.
It is required to cause interference with local light for coherent detection. In addition, it is necessary to convert the interfering optical signal into a high-speed electric signal. Thus, when the plurality of coherent detectors are used, there is a limit in downsizing of the entire coherent detector. In the present embodiment, by using the multi-core fiber 104 capable of transmitting light with low loss, the splitter 105 and the coherent detectors 108 can be freely arranged physically away from the optical system, and restrictions can be reduced on the mechanism design of the spatial optical communication receiver.
In addition, since the multi-core fiber is manufactured as a transmission medium, dense core arrangement is stably manufactured, and the spatial optical communication receiver can be implemented at low cost.
Further, in the compensation with only the deformable mirror, compensation for the spatial phase distortion is performed, but compensation for the intensity distribution distortion is not performed. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, synthesis can be performed according to the phase and intensity for each of the cores by the adaptive equalizer 201.
As described above, according to the spatial optical communication receiver of the first embodiment, the spatial optical communication receiver includes: a telescope for focusing an optical signal spatially propagated and outputting the optical signal collimated; a pointing mirror for compensating for an angle shift of the optical signal output from the telescope; a focusing optical system for focusing the optical signal from the pointing mirror; a multi-core fiber having a plurality of cores for transmitting the optical signal focused; a splitter for outputting optical signals of the respective cores transmitted by the multi-core fiber through different single mode fibers of each core; coherent detectors of performing coherent detection on the optical signals from each single mode fiber; and a digital signal processing unit for decoding digital signals of the signals subjected to the coherent detection, in which the digital signal processing unit includes an adaptive equalizer for performing multi-input and single-output equalization, a phase compensation unit for compensating for a phase of a signal from the adaptive equalizer, a decoding unit for decoding the signal phase-compensated, a power monitor for outputting a monitored value of power corresponding to each of the cores, and an angle shift detecting unit for outputting an angle shift signal indicating a value of the angle shift of the optical signal input to the focusing optical system by using the monitored value, and the pointing mirror updates a compensation angle correspondingly to the angle shift signal, so that degradation of the signal-to-noise power ratio and complication of the configuration can be suppressed, and stable spatial optical communication can be performed.
In a second embodiment, control of the digital signal processing unit and control of the deformable mirror are performed in cooperation with each other.
The illustrated spatial optical communication receiver includes the telescope 101, a deformable mirror (DM) 601, the focusing optical system 103, the multi-core fiber (MCF) 104, the splitter 105, the single mode fibers 106, the local light source 107, the coherent detectors 108, the analog-to-digital converters (ADC) 109, and a digital signal processing unit (DSP) 602. Here, since the configuration other than the deformable mirror 601 and the digital signal processing unit 602 is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment illustrated in
The deformable mirror 601 is a mirror for compensating for the wavefront distortion of the optical signal output from the telescope 101 by changing the shape of the mirror, and is configured to compensate for the wavefront distortion and output the optical signal with a signal of the wavefront distortion detected by the digital signal processing unit 602 as an input. The digital signal processing unit 602 is a processing unit for decoding the digital signals converted by the analog-to-digital converters 109 and calculating the wavefront distortion of the input of the focusing optical system 103, and its internal configuration is illustrated in
In
In addition, also for the digital signal processing unit 602 in the second embodiment, each functional unit may be configured by dedicated hardware, or may be configured by software, firmware, or the like.
Next, the operation will be described of the spatial optical communication receiver of the second embodiment.
In the flowchart of
First, the low frequency amplitude distribution calculating unit 701 will be described. The phase θi of the i-th core is calculated from the filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201 by expression (9).
A distribution of the phase at the input end of the multi-core fiber 104 is obtained by unwrapping the phase with respect to the coordinates from the phase at the coordinates (xi, yi) of each of the cores. In addition, a distribution of the absolute value of the amplitude is calculated from the RMS calculated by expression (10), or calculated from the RMS of the input signals.
By combining the phase and the absolute value of the amplitude, the amplitude distribution at the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104 can be obtained.
Here, the amplitude distribution fluctuates with atmospheric fluctuation, and the low frequency amplitude distribution calculating unit 701 applies a low-pass filter of, for example, 1 kHz to the amplitude distribution fluctuating along time, and calculates and outputs a low-frequency component.
Next, the details will be described of the Fourier transform unit 702. The Fourier transform unit 702 performs a two-dimensional Fourier transform on the input amplitude distribution at the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104, and converts it into an amplitude distribution at the input of the focusing optical system 103. By extracting the phase of the amplitude distribution, the phase distribution, that is, the wavefront distortion is calculated and output to the deformable mirror 601.
The mirror shape is controlled to cancel the input wavefront distortion, in the deformable mirror 601.
As described above, in the second embodiment, the deformable mirror 601 compensates for low-speed wavefront distortion, and the digital signal processing unit 602 removes remaining distortion, whereby a required compensation amount can be suppressed in the digital signal processing unit 602, and as a result, the digital signal processing unit 602 can perform compensation for the wavefront distortion at high speed and high precision, and wavefront distortion compensation capability is increased of a combination of the deformable mirror 601 and the digital signal processing unit 602.
Also in the second embodiment, by using a multi-core fiber similarly to the first embodiment, it is possible to improve the SNR as compared with the conventional configuration using a single mode fiber. In addition, there is an effect that a wavefront sensor is not required, there is no loss due to light forwarding to the wavefront sensor, and the beacon is not required. Note that, the fact that the wavefront distortion can be detected by using the multi-core fiber depends on the fact that the optical signals propagating through each core of the multi-core fiber are propagated while maintaining a physical positional relationship.
Further, similarly to the first embodiment, by using the multi-core fiber, restrictions on the mechanism design are reduced.
In addition, since the multi-core fiber is manufactured as a transmission medium, dense core arrangement is stably manufactured, and the spatial optical communication receiver can be implemented at low cost.
Then, in the compensation with only the deformable mirror, compensation for the spatial phase distortion is performed, but compensation for the intensity distribution distortion is not performed. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, synthesis can be performed according to the phase and intensity for each of the cores by the adaptive equalizer 201.
As described above, according to the spatial optical communication receiver of the second embodiment, the spatial optical communication receiver includes: a telescope for focusing an optical signal spatially propagated and outputting the optical signal collimated; a deformable mirror for compensating for wavefront distortion of the optical signal output from the telescope; a focusing optical system for focusing the optical signal from the deformable mirror; a multi-core fiber having a plurality of cores for transmitting the optical signal focused; coherent detectors for performing coherent detection on optical signals of each core transmitted by the multi-core fiber through different single mode fibers of each core; and a digital signal processing unit for decoding digital signals of the signals subjected to the coherent detection, in which the digital signal processing unit includes an adaptive equalizer for performing multi-input and single-output equalization, a phase compensation unit for compensating for a phase of a signal from the adaptive equalizer, a decoding unit for decoding the signal phase-compensated, a low frequency amplitude distribution calculating unit for calculating a low frequency component of an amplitude distribution at a multi-core fiber incident end face from filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer, and a Fourier transform unit for calculating wavefront distortion by converting the amplitude distribution from the low frequency amplitude distribution calculating unit into an amplitude distribution at an input of the focusing optical system, and the deformable mirror updates a wavefront distortion compensation amount correspondingly to the wavefront distortion output from the Fourier transform unit, so that degradation of the signal-to-noise power ratio and complication of the configuration can be suppressed, and stable spatial optical communication can be performed.
In a third embodiment, the digital signal processing unit, and the deformable mirror, the wavefront sensor, and the wavefront compensation control unit positioned on the input side of the focusing optical system are controlled in cooperation with each other.
The illustrated spatial optical communication receiver includes the telescope 101, the deformable mirror (DM) 601, a distributor (BS) 901, a wavefront sensor (WFS) 902, a wavefront compensation control unit 903, the focusing optical system 103, the multi-core fiber (MCF) 104, the splitter 105, the single mode fibers 106, the local light source 107, the coherent detectors 108, the analog-to-digital converters (ADC) 109, and a digital signal processing unit (DSP) 904. Here, since the configuration other than the distributor 901, the wavefront sensor 902, the wavefront compensation control unit 903, and the digital signal processing unit 904 is the same as the configuration of the second embodiment illustrated in
The distributor 901 is a distributor for distributing an input optical signal to the focusing optical system 103 and the wavefront sensor 902. The wavefront sensor 902 is a sensor for detecting wavefront distortion of the light distributed by the distributor 901. The wavefront compensation control unit 903 is configured to output the signal of the wavefront distortion detected by the wavefront sensor 902 to the deformable mirror 601, and output a signal of the amplitude distribution at the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104 caused by remaining wavefront distortion to the digital signal processing unit 904. The digital signal processing unit 904 is configured to decode digital signals converted by the analog-to-digital converters 109, and set initial values of an adaptive equalizer 201a (illustrated in
In
In
In addition, for the digital signal processing unit 904 and the wavefront compensation control unit 903 in the third embodiment, each functional unit may be configured by dedicated hardware, or may be configured by software, firmware, or the like.
Next, the operation will be described of the spatial optical communication receiver of the third embodiment.
In the flowchart of
After the two parallel processes, the optical signal is split for each of the cores by the splitter 105 (step ST105), and analog signals having been caused to interfere with the local light is obtained by the coherent detectors 108, and the analog signals are converted into digital signals by the analog-to-digital converters 109. Next, when the rising edge detection unit 1101 of the digital signal processing unit 904 detects a rising edge of an input digital signal (step ST304—Yes), the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 sets initial values of the equalization coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201b (step ST305). The rising edge detection unit 1101 detects the start of signal input when any of the outputs (for example, RMS) from the analog-to-digital converters 109 is greater than or equal to a preset threshold. Hereinafter, the details will be described of processing of the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102.
The equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 inputs the amplitude distribution output from the wavefront compensation control unit 903, and calculates amplitude of the optical signal propagating through each of the cores from the amplitude distribution. Here, considering a case where the adaptive equalizer 201a includes an FIR filter operating with one sample/symbol and having a length of M taps similarly to the second embodiment, and it is assumed that the amplitude of the i-th core is Ai, for example. The equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 sets the filter coefficients on the basis of the maximum ratio synthesis as in expression (11), for example. In the expression, * indicates a complex conjugate. Here, mc indicates a position of an approximate center of the tap, and is for example, M/2.
h
Xi(mc)=Ai*,
h
Xi(m)=0, m≠mc (11)
The adaptive equalizer 201a adaptively updates the filter coefficients according to the input signals with the filter coefficients set by equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 as the initial values (step ST306). Thereafter, similarly to the first and second embodiments, the digital signals corresponding to each core are synthesized by the adaptive equalizer 201a, compensation for the phase difference is performed by the phase compensation unit 202 (step ST109), and determination and decoding are performed by the decoding unit 203 (step ST110). Note that, in step ST304, when the input signals to the digital signal processing unit 904 are not detected in the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 (step ST304—No), the initial values of the adaptive equalizer 201a are not set, the process proceeds to step ST306, and update of the synthesis filter coefficients are performed by the adaptive equalizer 201a.
In general, the MISO equalizer adaptively sets filter coefficients for input signals; however, since the input signals contain noise, many signal inputs are required to converge the filter coefficients, and it takes time for the convergence. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, the update of the filter coefficients can be started from a condition for approximate convergence by setting the initial values of the coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201b on the basis of the signal from the wavefront compensation control unit 903, and as a result, the convergence time is shortened. That is, communication can be established at high speed when reception of the signal is started. In addition, since a relationship between the amplitude distribution at the deformable mirror 601 and the amplitude distribution at the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104 is a relationship of Fourier transform, it is possible to relatively reduce the spatial resolution or reduce a phase change at the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104 even if the deformable mirror 601 has the wavefront distortion, that is, phase distribution, having a high spatial resolution and a large fluctuation range. Note that, the relationship is the same even if the deformable mirror 601 and the incident end face of the multi-core fiber 104 are exchanged. Thus, it is possible to compensate for the wavefront distortion having a high spatial resolution and a large fluctuation range, for which compensation cannot be performed with only the deformable mirror 601 or only the multi-core fiber 104 and the digital signal processing unit 904.
The fact that the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 can set the initial values of the filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201a on the basis of the amplitude distribution from the wavefront compensation control unit 903 depends on the fact that the optical signals transmitted through each core of the multi-core fiber 104 are transmitted while maintaining a physical positional relationship.
In the compensation using only the deformable mirror, compensation for the spatial phase distortion is performed, but compensation for the intensity distribution distortion is not performed. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, similarly to the first and second embodiments, synthesis can be performed according to the phase and intensity for each of the cores by the adaptive equalizer 201b.
Further, similarly to the first embodiment, by using the multi-core fiber, restrictions on the mechanism design are reduced.
As described above, according to the spatial optical communication receiver of the third embodiment, the spatial optical communication receiver includes: a telescope for focusing an optical signal spatially propagated and outputting the optical signal collimated; a distributor for outputting the optical signal output from the telescope in a first direction and a second direction; a wavefront sensor for detecting wavefront distortion of the optical signal output in the first direction; a deformable mirror for compensating for wavefront distortion of the optical signal output in the second direction; a focusing optical system for focusing the optical signal from the deformable mirror; a multi-core fiber having a plurality of cores for transmitting the optical signal focused; coherent detectors for performing coherent detection on optical signals of each core transmitted by the multi-core fiber through different single mode fibers of each core; a digital signal processing unit for decoding digital signals of the signals subjected to the coherent detection; and a wavefront compensation control unit for controlling the deformable mirror and the digital signal processing unit on the basis of the wavefront distortion detected by the wavefront sensor, in which the wavefront compensation control unit includes a deformable mirror control unit for controlling the deformable mirror to cancel the wavefront distortion detected by the wavefront sensor, and a Fourier transform unit for calculating wavefront distortion remaining in an output from the deformable mirror, converting the wavefront distortion into an amplitude distribution at an incident end face of the multi-core fiber by performing Fourier transform, and outputting the amplitude distribution, and the digital signal processing unit includes an adaptive equalizer for performing multi-input and single-output equalization, a phase compensation unit for compensating for a phase of a signal from the adaptive equalizer, a decoding unit for decoding the signal phase-compensated, and an equalization coefficient initial setting unit for setting initial values of equalization coefficients of the adaptive equalizer on the basis of the amplitude distribution output from the Fourier transform unit, so that communication can be established at high speed when reception of the signal is started, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.
In a fourth embodiment, initial values of the adaptive equalizer are set by determining an erroneous convergence of the adaptive equalizer in the digital signal processing unit.
The illustrated digital signal processing unit 1300 includes an adaptive equalizer 201b, the phase compensation unit 202, the decoding unit 203, the rising edge detection unit 1101, an equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a, and an erroneous convergence determining unit 1301. The adaptive equalizer 201b is a MISO equalizer configured to set values given by the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a as initial values, similarly to the adaptive equalizer 201a in the third embodiment, and provide an erroneous convergence determination signal to the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301. The equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a is configured to input a signal of the amplitude distribution output from the wavefront compensation control unit, similarly to the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102 of the third embodiment, and set the initial values of the adaptive equalizer 201b when the signal or an erroneous convergence signal output from the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301 is input. The configurations of the phase compensation unit 202 and the decoding unit 203 in the digital signal processing unit 1300 are the same as those of the phase compensation unit 202 and the decoding unit 203 of the first to third embodiments. In addition, since the configuration of the spatial optical communication receiver other than the digital signal processing unit 1300 is the same as the configuration of the third embodiment illustrated in
In addition, for the digital signal processing unit 1300 and the wavefront compensation control unit 903 in the fourth embodiment, each functional unit may be configured by dedicated hardware, or may be configured by software, firmware, or the like.
Next, the operation will be described of the spatial optical communication receiver of the fourth embodiment.
In the flowchart of
In addition, the operation of setting the initial values by the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a by the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301 is as follows. First, the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301 inputs the amplitude distribution output from the wavefront compensation control unit 903 and the filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201b, and compares these with each other to determine erroneous convergence of the adaptive equalizer 201b. When the determination result is erroneous convergence, the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301 outputs an initial value setting signal for the adaptive equalizer 201b to the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a. As for the erroneous convergence determination, for example, when havgi calculated by expression (12) from the filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer 201b and Ai* are compared with each other by expression (13) and a value γ of expression (13) is less than or equal to 0.5, it is determined as the erroneous convergence.
When it is determined as the erroneous convergence by the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301, the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a sets the initial values of the adaptive equalizer 201b similarly to the case where there is a signal input to the digital signal processing unit 1300 (step ST305).
Processes after setting the initial values of the adaptive equalizer 201b in step ST305 (steps ST306 to ST109 to ST110) are the same as those in the third embodiment. Note that, in step ST401, when neither the input signal to the digital signal processing unit 1300 nor the erroneous convergence determination signal by the erroneous convergence determining unit 1301 is detected in the equalization coefficient initial setting unit 1102a (step ST401—No), the initial values of the adaptive equalizer 201b are not set, the process proceeds to step ST306, and update of the synthesis filter coefficients are performed by the adaptive equalizer 201b.
As described above, according to the spatial optical communication receiver of the fourth embodiment, the digital signal processing unit includes an erroneous convergence determining unit for outputting an erroneous convergence signal to the equalization coefficient initial setting unit when comparing a residual wavefront distortion amount from the wavefront compensation control unit with filter coefficients of the adaptive equalizer and detecting erroneous convergence of the adaptive equalizer, and the equalization coefficient initial setting unit sets the initial values of the adaptive equalizer when the erroneous convergence signal is output from the erroneous convergence determining unit, so that it is possible to prevent the adaptive equalizer from remaining in an erroneous convergence state, in addition to the effects of the third embodiment.
In a fifth embodiment, instead of the multi-core fiber, a multi-core fiber amplifier is used for performing optical amplification.
The multi-core fiber 104 in the first to fourth embodiments may be the multi-core fiber amplifier, and the multi-core fiber amplifier performs optical amplification when propagating an optical signal. With such a configuration, noise can be suppressed when the optical signal is converted into an electric signal in coherent detection, the SNR of the signal can be improved, and communication quality can be improved.
Note that, in the invention of the present application, within the scope of the invention, free combination of the embodiments, a modification of an arbitrary component of each embodiment, or omission of an arbitrary component in each embodiment is possible.
As described above, the spatial optical communication receiver according to the present invention relates to a configuration for inputting an optical signal spatially propagated, performing coherent detection, and decoding a digital signal of the detected signal, and is suitable, for example, for use in large-capacity spatial communication in which a transceiver is mounted on a moving object such as an aircraft or satellite.
101: telescope, 102: pointing mirror (PM), 103: focusing optical system, 104: multi-core fiber (MCF), 105: splitter, 106: single mode fiber, 107: local light source, 108: coherent detector, 109: analog-to-digital converter (ADC), 110, 602, 904, 1300: digital signal processing unit (DSP), 201, 201a, 201b: adaptive equalizer, 202: phase compensation unit, 203: decoding unit, 204: power monitor, 205: angle shift detecting unit, 601: deformable mirror (DM), 701: low frequency amplitude distribution calculating unit, 702, 1002: Fourier transform unit (FT), 901: distributor (BS), 902: wavefront sensor (WFS), 903: wavefront compensation control unit, 1001: deformable mirror control unit (DM control unit), 1101: rising edge detection unit, 1102, 1102a: equalization coefficient initial setting unit, 1301: erroneous convergence determining unit
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2018/007860 | 3/1/2018 | WO | 00 |