Performance analysis and electronics packaging of the optical communications demonstrator

The Optical Communications Demonstrator (OCD), under development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), is a laboratory-based lasercomm terminal designed to validate several key technologies, primarily precision beam pointing, high bandwidth tracking, and beacon acquisition. The novelty of the instrument is that it uses a single CCD array detector for both beacon acquisition and tracking, and a fiber-coupled laser transmitter. The resulting reduction in design complexity can lead to a reduced system cost and an improved system reliability. In this paper, we describe recent progress on the development of the OCD terminal, particularly the electronics packaging and optical characterization with the Lasercom Test and Evaluation Station (LTES).