Influence of wave-front aberrations on bit error rate in inter-satellite laser communications

We derive the bit error rate (BER) of inter-satellite laser communication (lasercom) links with on–off-keying systems in the presence of both wave-front aberrations and pointing error, but without considering the noise of the detector. Wave-front aberrations induced by receiver terminal have no influence on the BER, while wave-front aberrations induced by transmitter terminal will increase the BER. The BER depends on the area S which is truncated out by the threshold intensity of the detector (such as APD) on the intensity function in the receiver plane, and changes with root mean square (RMS) of wave-front aberrations. Numerical results show that the BER rises with the increasing of RMS value. The influences of Astigmatism, Coma, Curvature and Spherical aberration on the BER are compared. This work can benefit the design of lasercom system.

Research highlights
► BER depends on intensity distribution in the receiver plane.
► Wave-front aberrations change intensity distribution in the receiver plane.
► Wave-front aberrations affect BER.
► Every detector has its threshold intensity/power.
► BER depends on the area truncated out by the threshold intensity.