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Photonics
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Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications
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Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "Optical Communication and Network".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 June 2026 | Viewed by 3642

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dagang Jiang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Astronautics and Aeronautics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Interests: free-space optical communication; laser atmospheric propagation; acquisition, tracking and pointing
Dr. Jian Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Astronautics and Aeronautics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
Interests: free-space optical communication; laser atmospheric propagation; adaptive optics; aero optics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Free space optical communication (FSOC) has been successfully demonstrated on the satellites, aircrafts, ships and vehicles, which is considered a promising solution for next-generation wireless communications. However, enormous scientific and technological challenges for FSOC still remain, such as reliable communication in the random media, robust tracking in the dynamics condition, novel architecture for FSOC network, and so on.

Therefore, we are thrilled to introduce Special Issue: Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications. It serves as a platform for scholars and experts to exchange ideas, share breakthroughs, and establish cooperation to promote the FSOC cutting-edge technology.

Dr. Dagang Jiang
Dr. Jian Huang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • free space optical communication
  • acquisition, tracking and pointing
  • laser propagation
  • adaptive optics
  • free space optical network

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 4348 KB  
Article
Experimental Demonstration of OAF Fiber-FSO Relaying for 60 GBd Transmission in Urban Environment
by Evrydiki Kyriazi, Panagiotis Toumasis, Panagiotis Kourelias, Argiris Ntanos, Aristeidis Stathis, Dimitris Apostolopoulos, Nikolaos Lyras, Hercules Avramopoulos and Giannis Giannoulis
Photonics 2025, 12(12), 1222; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12121222 - 11 Dec 2025
Viewed by 244
Abstract
We present an experimental demonstration of a daylight-capable Optical Amplify-and-Forward (OAF) relaying system designed to support flexible and high-capacity network topologies. The proposed architecture integrates fiber-based infrastructure with OAF Free Space Optics (FSO) relaying, enabling bidirectional optical communication over 460 m (x2) using [...] Read more.
We present an experimental demonstration of a daylight-capable Optical Amplify-and-Forward (OAF) relaying system designed to support flexible and high-capacity network topologies. The proposed architecture integrates fiber-based infrastructure with OAF Free Space Optics (FSO) relaying, enabling bidirectional optical communication over 460 m (x2) using SFP-compatible schemes, while addressing Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) constraints and fiber disruptions. This work achieves a Bit Error Rate (BER) below the Hard-Decision Forward Error Correction (HD-FEC) limit, validating the feasibility of high-speed urban FSO links. By leveraging low-cost fiber-coupled optical terminals, the system transmits single-carrier 120 Gbps Intensity Modulation/Direct Detection (IM/DD) signals using NRZ (Non-Return-to-Zero) and PAM4 (4-Pulse Amplitude Modulation) modulation formats. Operating entirely in the optical C-Band domain, this approach ensures compatibility with existing infrastructure, supporting scalable mesh FSO deployments and seamless integration with hybrid Radio Frequency (RF)/FSO systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications)
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21 pages, 26649 KB  
Article
A Hybrid Deep Learning-Based Modeling Methods for Atmosphere Turbulence in Free Space Optical Communications
by Yuan Gao, Bingke Yang, Shasha Fan, Leheng Xu, Tianye Wang, Boxian Yang and Shichen Jiang
Photonics 2025, 12(12), 1210; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12121210 - 8 Dec 2025
Viewed by 354
Abstract
Free-space optical (FSO) communication provides high-capacity and secure links but is strongly impaired by atmospheric turbulence, which induces multi-scale irradiance fluctuations. Traditional approaches such as adaptive optics, multi-aperture and multiple-input multiple-output FSO schemes offer limited robustness under rapidly varying turbulence, while statistical fading [...] Read more.
Free-space optical (FSO) communication provides high-capacity and secure links but is strongly impaired by atmospheric turbulence, which induces multi-scale irradiance fluctuations. Traditional approaches such as adaptive optics, multi-aperture and multiple-input multiple-output FSO schemes offer limited robustness under rapidly varying turbulence, while statistical fading models such as log-normal and Gamma–Gamma cannot represent multi-scale temporal correlations. This work proposes a hybrid deep learning framework that explicitly separates high-frequency scintillation and low-frequency power drift through a conditional variational autoencoder and a bidirectional long short-term memory dual-branch architecture with an adaptive gating mechanism. Trained on OptiSystem-generated datasets, the model accurately reconstructs irradiance distributions and temporal dynamics. For model-assisted signal compensation, it achieves an average 79% bit-error-rate (BER) reduction across all simulated scenarios compared with conventional thresholding and Gamma–Gamma maximum a posteriori detection. Transfer learning further enables efficient adaptation to new turbulence conditions with minimal retraining. Experimental validation shows that the compensated BER approaches near-zero, yielding significant improvement over traditional detection. These results demonstrate an effective and adaptive solution for turbulence-impaired FSO links. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications)
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14 pages, 3077 KB  
Article
Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Differential Modulation and Detection in FSO Systems
by Hao Zhou, Zhenning Yi, Jingyuan Wang, Jianhua Li, Zhiyong Xu, Jiyong Zhao and Yang Su
Photonics 2025, 12(11), 1120; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12111120 - 13 Nov 2025
Viewed by 296
Abstract
In free-space optical (FSO) communication systems, on–off keying (OOK) modulation is widely used due to its simplicity. However, systems applying OOK suffer from the BER floor in atmospheric turbulence channels, leading to persistently high BER even at high SNR. To mitigate this limitation [...] Read more.
In free-space optical (FSO) communication systems, on–off keying (OOK) modulation is widely used due to its simplicity. However, systems applying OOK suffer from the BER floor in atmospheric turbulence channels, leading to persistently high BER even at high SNR. To mitigate this limitation in atmospheric turbulence channels, differential modulation and detection (DMD) can be adopted. An in-depth theoretical and experimental investigation of DMD in FSO systems is conducted in this paper, considering the effects of turbulence. A comprehensive derivation of the system performance for DMD under atmospheric turbulence channels is also provided, with the results of research revealing that DMD outperforms OOK in high-SNR regions. To validate the theoretical analysis, an experimental platform is set up to sample the fluctuation of light intensity. Furthermore, the system performance of DMD is analyzed under varying scintillation indices, modulation depths, and transmission rates in this paper. Based on the data acquired from experiments, the results corroborate the analytical findings, confirming the great advantages of DMD in turbulent environments. The insights provided in this study establish a foundation for practical FSO system design, enabling the development of simpler and more reliable communication systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications)
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10 pages, 1974 KB  
Article
Demonstration of Multiple Access FSO Communication System Based on Silicon Optical Phased Array
by Siwen Fan and Anpeng Song
Photonics 2025, 12(11), 1119; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12111119 - 13 Nov 2025
Viewed by 483
Abstract
The silicon photonic optical phased array (OPA) has attracted enormous interest in free-space optical communication (FSO) owing to its high integration and agile beam steering. However, existing studies have only used its ability for fast beam switching to achieve point-to-multipoint communication, which results [...] Read more.
The silicon photonic optical phased array (OPA) has attracted enormous interest in free-space optical communication (FSO) owing to its high integration and agile beam steering. However, existing studies have only used its ability for fast beam switching to achieve point-to-multipoint communication, which results in link disconnection and time waste during the switching process. To address this problem, we make full use of the light field manipulation capabilities of Si-OPA to generate beams with multiple main lobes pointing to different targets at the same time, and combine code division multiple access (CDMA) to achieve uninterrupted point-to-multipoint communication. Through detailed data analysis, it is experimentally demonstrated that the proposed method has improved the communication efficiency by 24.576% compared with the previous beam-switching solution. This method provides a new application idea for Si-OPA in FSO communication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications)
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15 pages, 4072 KB  
Article
A Conceptual Study of Rapidly Reconfigurable and Scalable Bidirectional Optical Neural Networks Leveraging a Smart Pixel Light Modulator
by Young-Gu Ju
Photonics 2025, 12(2), 132; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics12020132 - 2 Feb 2025
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1117
Abstract
We explore the integration of smart pixel light modulators (SPLMs) into bidirectional optical neural networks (BONNs), highlighting their advantages over traditional spatial light modulators (SLMs). SPLMs enhance BONN performance by enabling faster light modulation in both directions, significantly increasing the refresh rate of [...] Read more.
We explore the integration of smart pixel light modulators (SPLMs) into bidirectional optical neural networks (BONNs), highlighting their advantages over traditional spatial light modulators (SLMs). SPLMs enhance BONN performance by enabling faster light modulation in both directions, significantly increasing the refresh rate of neural network weights to hundreds of megahertz, thus facilitating the practical implementation of the backpropagation algorithm and two-mirror-like BONN structures. The architecture of an SPLM-based BONN (SPBONN) features bidirectional modulation, simplifying hardware with electrical fan-in and fan-out. An SPBONN with an array size of 96 × 96 can achieve high throughput, up to 4.3 × 1016 MAC/s with 10 layers. Energy assessments showed that the SPLM array, despite its higher power consumption compared to the SLM array, is manageable via effective heat dissipation. Smart pixels with programmable memory in the SPBONN provide a cost-effective solution for expanding network node size and overcoming scalability limitations without the need for additional hardware. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Free-Space Optical Communications)
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