title: Indirect measurement of a laser communications bit-error-rate reduction with low-order adaptive optics.
abstract: In experimental measurements of the bit-error rate for a laser communication system, we show improved performance with the implementation of low-order (tip/tilt) adaptive optics in a free-space link. With simulated atmospheric tilt injected by a conventional piezoelectric tilt mirror, an adaptive optics system with a Xinetics tilt mirror was used in a closed loop. The laboratory experiment replicated a monostatic propagation with a cooperative wave front beacon at the receiver. Owing to constraints in the speed of the processing hardware, the data is scaled to represent an actual propagation of a few kilometers under moderate scintillation conditions. We compare the experimental data and indirect measurement of the bit-error rate before correction and after correction, with a theoretical prediction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Optical Science, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA.
authors.forename: Robert K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Tyson
authors.forename: Douglas E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Canning