Arizona Technology Council: Optics Valley Technical Series – New Space-Commercial Satellite Communication

The satellite communication market is poised for exponential growth and represents a major new opportunity for optical communications, primarily for low Earth orbit (LEO) connections between satellites. The driving forces underpinning this growth include decreased hardware and launch costs, large investments originating from the private sector, and the growing demand to cover underserved areas.

Leveraging fiber communication technology for space applications requires addressing key challenges — surviving the launch and successfully operating in the harsh environment of space. In addition to reliability issues that must be addressed, specific performances of optical power and dimensions and power dissipation will also be discussed by Dr. Xu.

Combining extensive experience with vertical integration (from materials to subsystems) can make the difference in providing the optimal solution for custom optical communications applications to successfully pioneer the new space frontier.