Application of lasers in communication

Contento IntroductionoHow it work?oWhy not optic fibers?oWhy not RF?oCurrent uses of laser communicationo Importance of laser communicationo conclusion

Current ApplicationsDefence and Sensitive Areas

Laser Defence systems established across the world can detect enemy ships and missiles while at the same time disabling them.

Airport Runways

Laser communication systems on airport runways can send signals back to headquarters letting officers know when and what planes have landed. 

Mass Communication

Laser communications have been utilized for mass communications including telephone conversations and even television channels.

NASA

Nasa has created lots of different technologies which include laser communications. One recent NASA accomplishment was a successful exchange of laser pulses with the MESSENGER spacecraft and an Earth-based observatory which set a new record for laser transmission in space. Satellite-to-Satellite

Nasa has also developed Satellite-to-Satellite communications using laser communications. 

• The importance of using lasers in space for communications is that since light is traveling in space (a vacuum ) the light signals are not corrupted as much as they would be traveling through optical fiber.

• In addition, instead of using one colour of a laser to transmit information, a satellite could have many different lasers, each transmitting information on a different colour. This method of using different colours to increase the amount of information to be transmitted is called "wavelength division multiplexing" and is similar to how conventional radio signals are broadcast on different radio frequencies. With this type of laser technology, optical communication links in space could easily handle many tens of trillions of bits of information being sent every second.

Importance of Laser Communications

Conclusion• Two-way laser communication in space has

long been a goal for NASA because it would enable data transmission rates that are 10 to 1,000 times higher than traditional radio waves.

• While lasers and radio transmissions both travel at light-speed, lasers can pack more data. It's similar to moving from a dial-up Internet connection to broadband.