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Optical Communication Systems Group

For more than 20 years the former Optical Free-Space Communications Group (OCG) of the institute has been dealing with high sensitive coherent optical inter-satellite communications. Since 1998 also atmospheric transmission scenarios were investigated. The advantage of this technology compared with directional RF-links lies mainly in the very narrow divergence of optical beams and according link budget improvements. Furthermore, very high datarates (multi-gigabit per second) only become possible with optical technologies. After a rapid growth to more than 10 members, the OCG was split in 2011 into two new groups, the Optical Communications Systems Group (OCS), and the AOT (see below). OCS deals with prototype system developments and flight experiments, for aeronautical communications downlinks up to satellite downlink terminals and optical ground stations.
In 2009 the company “ViaLight Communications GmbH” was founded by three members of the OCG. This spin-off aims at further developing and marketing of the institute’s technology in the optical domain towards commercial products.