Spatial tracker for an air-to-ground laser communication link

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-94).In this thesis, I designed several of the hardware components of a spatial tracker for an air-to-ground laser communication system; these include a PWM switching amplifier and the control systems for driving the primary steering and tracking elements required in the acquisition and maintenance of an optical communication link. The hardware was designed for low size, weight, and power (SWaP), low cost, and easy system integration. A performance analysis is presented comparing the designed hardware to a benchmark lasercom system developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.by William G. Near.M.Eng