Ask HN: High powered directional laser and FSOC Feedback
Hi,
We’re working on a portable optical laser ground station for communications, and I’m looking for feedback on the setup for our upcoming field test.
We are operating in the 300–400 terahertz (THz) range, and our first prototype aims to achieve 100 Gbps. The system leverages filamentation effects of high-powered lasers to propagate the signal through free space by creating a clear channel through atmospheric turbulence.
While we’ve successfully tested this in a lab environment, we’re now preparing for a field test using a laser with a peak energy close to 1 MJ and pulse durations of ~90 femtoseconds.
We’ve been bootstrapped so far and want to ensure we’re meeting all laser safety requirements, especially given we’re firing through open space. We’re currently fundraising to purchase components for the field laser, which gets expensive very quickly—so we want to be absolutely sure we have the right specs and safety protocols in place.
For safety, we are using a camera and tracking software to monitor free space in real time and ensure there are no aircraft or satellites in the beam path during testing. We are several km's out of populated areas and are doing a km class test of the laser. The receiver is at a km class height from the ground station for this test.
Any feedback on our test setup—or advice on how to make sure we don’t accidentally destroy a multi-million-dollar device—would be deeply appreciated!