Plenoptic Wavefront Sensor For Free-Space Optical Communications

A plenoptic wavefront sensor is proposed for the measurement of the atmospheric turbulence on satellite-to-ground optical communications. The design will be based on the outcome of the performance simulations for the specific site Teide Observatory (Spain). The performance of the plenoptic wavefront sensor is compared to a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor operating under the same conditions. Scenarios with high signal-to-noise ratio are considered with a main focus on communications with geostationary satellites. The turbulent conditions are modelled taking into account the greatest realistic range (weak and strong turbulence) at Teide Observatory in both daytime and night time. The model is defined for space-to-ground laser communications at 532 nm, 1064 nm, and 1550 nm assuming several apertures for the receiver telescope. This paper presents the numerical simulations and main findings regarding phase retrieval and wavefront sensors behaviour in weak and strong atmospheric turbulence regimes; and demonstrates the outstanding behaviour of the plenoptic camera in strong turbulence conditions.