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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Phys.

Sec. Optics and Photonics

Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2025.1562799

This article is part of the Research Topic Advances and Applications of Optical Wireless Communication in Next-Generation Networks. View all articles

A Ground-to-GEO-to-LEO Satellite Optical Wireless Communication Link based on a Spectrally Efficient and Secure Modulation Scheme

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Guilin University of Electronic Technology, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang Region, China
  • 2 National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 3 HITEC University, Taxila, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 4 King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
  • 5 Uppsala University, Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Optical wireless communication (OWC) offers significant advantages over traditional radio frequency systems due to its high bandwidth, ease of deployment, license-free operation, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and inherent security benefits. This research presents a novel all-optical technique for transmitting multiple data channels over an optical link, employing Differential Phase-Shift Keying (DPSK) and Pulse Position Modulation (PPM) schemes. Notably, the combination of DPSK and PPM enhances both data security and spectral efficiency compared to conventional methods. The proposed technique demonstrably achieves error-free transmission of three data channels, each at a data rate of 10 Gbps, as validated through simulation results.Furthermore, the study explores the applicability of this technique to inter-satellite links. By integrating with a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) data relay satellite, this technique can improve link availability for low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Our novel approach holds significant promise for practical deployment and seamless integration into future high-speed and secure communication networks, catering to the ever-growing demand for robust data transmission.

    Keywords: Free space optical communication, inter-satellite optical wireless communication, pulse position modulation, Differential phase shift keying, low earth orbit (LEO), Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO)

    Received: 18 Jan 2025; Accepted: 21 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Khan, Ghafoor, Mirza, ALJOHANI and Aziz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Salman Abdul Ghafoor, National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad, Pakistan
    Imran Aziz, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 753 12, Uppsala, Sweden

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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