Investigation on the bit error rate performance of 40Gb/s space optical communication system based on BPSK scheme

Space optical communication technique is attracting increasingly more attention because it owns advantages such as high security and great communication quality compared with microwave communication. As the space optical communication develops, people have already achieved the communication at data rate of Gb/s currently. The next generation for space optical system have goal of the higher data rate of 40Gb/s. However, the traditional optical communication system cannot satisfy it when the data rate of system is at such high extent. This paper will introduce ground optical communication system of 40Gb/s data rate as to achieve the space optical communication at high data rate. Speaking of the data rate of 40Gb/s, we must apply waveguide modulator to modulate the optical signal and magnify this signal by laser amplifier. Moreover, the more sensitive avalanche photodiode (APD) will be as the detector to increase the communication quality. Based on communication system above, we analyze character of communication quality in downlink of space optical communication system when data rate is at the level of 40Gb/s. The bit error rate (BER) performance, an important factor to justify communication quality, versus some parameter ratios is discussed. From results, there exists optimum ratio of gain factor and divergence angle, which shows the best BER performance. We can also increase ratio of receiving diameter and divergence angle for better communication quality. These results can be helpful to comprehend the character of optical communication system at high data rate and contribute to the system design.