Free-Space Optical Communications for Terrestrial, Aerial and Space Networks: Which Frequency Bands for Which Scenarios?

Free-Space Optical Communications for Terrestrial, Aerial and Space Networks: Which Frequency Bands for Which Scenarios?

Description: 

Free-space optical (FSO) communications are attracting increasing interest for terrestrial, aerial and space networks. However, the optimal technical solution depends strongly on the target scenario. A terrestrial FSO link across an urban area, a ground-to-HAP/UAV link, an optical feeder link to a satellite, and an inter-satellite link all face different constraints in terms of propagation distance, atmospheric loss, turbulence, cloud blockage, pointing accuracy, terminal size, optical power, eye safety, receiver sensitivity and operational availability. Therefore, the choice of spectral band is not straightforward and should be discussed in a scenario-driven manner.

This 2-hour workshop will focus on the practical question: which wavelength or frequency bands should be used for different FSO application scenarios? The discussion will cover near-infrared (NIR) bands such as 850 nm, 1064 nm and 1550 nm, which benefit from mature telecom and space optical communication technologies; visible and ultraviolet (UV) bands for short-range, underwater, non-line-of-sight or specialized links; mid-infrared (MIR) bands for potential operation in favorable atmospheric windows and challenging weather or turbulence conditions; and THz bands as a complementary option between RF and optical systems. Rather than seeking a single “best” band, the workshop aims to build a clear mapping between application scenario, spectral window, device maturity, propagation characteristics and deployment feasibility.

The workshop will include invited talks of 10-15 minutes each, followed by a 20-30 minutes panel discussion. The invited speakers will represent academia, industry and standardization/ecosystem stakeholders. Academic speakers will address atmospheric propagation, channel modelling, modulation formats and emerging device technologies. Industrial speakers will discuss terminal design, acquisition and tracking, component availability, reliability, cost and field deployment experience. Standardization speakers will cover interoperability, eye safety, availability metrics, regulatory aspects and integration with future 6G and non-terrestrial network architectures. 

The workshop will conclude with a panel discussion, addressing whether future FSO systems will mainly rely on mature near-infrared technologies, move toward MIR/LWIR and THz solutions in selected scenarios, or evolve into adaptive multi-band hybrid RF/THz/FSO architectures. The expected outcome is a concise technology roadmap connecting FSO scenarios with suitable spectral bands, modulation choices, atmospheric mitigation methods and deployment requirements.

Time: TBD

Venue: TBD

Organizers:

Xiaodan Pang, Zhejiang University

Haifeng Yao, Beijing Institute of Technology

Yuzhe Lin, The Institute of Semiconductors (IOS), CAS

Speakers:

TBD