Optical communication links for future, secure, fast and energy efficient data transfer.
A few days ago some of our optical engineers together with Stefano Bonora – Dynamic Optics’ founder and the team of the Adaptive Optics group of CNR-IFN- have taken a preliminary test to verify the correct dimensioning of the optical source unit which will be used for the ACTPHAST 4.0 – ACceleraTing PHotonics innovAtion for SME’s project.
The ACTPHAST telescope in fact, will have in its focal plane an adaptive optics system to maximize the coupling efficiency of the optical signal into a single mode fiber.
The experiment consisted in establishing an optical link between a light source and a receiving telelescope coupled with a wavefront sensor made by Dynamic Optics and in estimating the atmospheric turbolence parameters resulting from the data collected by the sensor at the focal plane of the telescope.
The optical link was established between the telescope at the OS’ headquarter (157 m s.l.m), and the optical source was located in Caltrano, close to Malga Foraoro (1358 m s.l.m.); a distance between the two sites of 10.21 km as shown in the map picture.
Data still have to be analyzed, but the experiment has been a success because it proved the feasibility of the optical link between the two sites and the correct design of the optical source as well the other innovative subsystems we developed.
