DEVELOPMENT IN LASER COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND ITS CURRENT APPLICATIONS
AbstractAlthough laser theory was introduced by Einstein in the 1900's, it was 1960's that functional lasers came up in parallel with material science and technological developments. After the first working laser emerged, it found a lots of usage areas in technology and industry. The unique properties of the laserbeam make the laser an indispensable component of such systems, especially in precision machining and applications. For the last 20 years, optical communication systems have been included in theapplication areas of lasers. Conventional communication systems (RF systems) cannot meet today's information transfer rate requirements due to their low bandwidths. Moreover, in the view of information security concerns, the laser communication systems are seen as the best alternative. Even if atmospheric effects affect the performance of laser communication systems, these negative effects can be minimized by selecting appropriate wavelength and antenna. In this study, comparison of conventional communication and laser communication systems is performed. Also, thehistorical development of laser communication systems is explained and system requirements are examined. In addition to these, the potential of laser communication systems are explained with examples. Conceptually, a laser communication system is proposed and an optical antenna design is made for this system.