Passive Optical Beamforming Satellite System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current communications satellite systems face challenges in achieving high throughput while minimizing power and mass resource consumption, and improving reliability due to the use of active optical components for beamforming, which consume significant resources and reduce reliability.
Innovation Solution
A communications satellite system utilizing passive optical beamforming networks with passive single-sideband filters and optical ring resonators to process optical beams, converting them into electrical RF signals for transmission, thereby reducing power and mass demands and enhancing reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If active optical units (lasers, optical receivers, MEMS switching networks) are used for optical beamforming, then beamforming capability is achieved, but power consumption and mass resources are greatly consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces active optical components (lasers, optical receivers, MEMS switching networks) with passive optical components (optical circulators, optical couplers, optical filters). This substitution eliminates the need for powered devices in the optical path, dramatically reducing power consumption while maintaining beamforming functionality through passive optical signal routing and processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes the active optical units from the beamforming system. By taking out the power-consuming lasers, optical receivers, and MEMS switches, the system achieves beamforming solely through passive optical components, thereby eliminating the primary source of power consumption and mass resource consumption.
2Adaptability or versatility
If active optical units are used for optical beamforming, then beamforming function is achieved, but mass resources are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes heavy active optical components with lightweight passive optical components. The passive optical system using circulators, couplers, and filters significantly reduces the mass of the optical payload while preserving full beamforming capability, directly addressing the mass resource constraint.
3Productivity
If active optical units are used for optical beamforming, then optical signal processing is achieved, but system reliability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes active optical units from the signal processing path. By extracting the lasers, optical receivers, and MEMS switches that reduce reliability, the system achieves signal processing entirely through passive optical components that have no moving parts and higher inherent reliability, while maintaining full signal processing capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves one terabit/second throughput with reduced power and mass resource consumption, increased reliability, and efficient beam selection using only passive optical components, addressing the limitations of active optical systems.
Implementation Method 1
The passive optical demultiplexer splits the incoming optical signal into a multiplicity of frequency bandwidths
Implementation Method 2
The optical beamforming networks and the SSB filters may comprise optical ring resonators
Implementation Method 3
The output of the optical signal processing system is converted into electrical radio frequency (RF) signals
Data Source
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AI summary
A communications satellite system that provides one terabit/second throughput utilizing passive optical beamforming networks. An onboard telescope couples uplinked optical beams into an onboard optical signal processing system via an optical waveguide. The passive optical signal processing system comprises an optical demultiplexer, a multiplicity of single-sideband filters, and a multiplicity of optical beamforming networks. The optical beamforming networks and the SSB filters may comprise optical ring resonators. The output of the optical signal processing system is converted into electrical signals which are sent to a phased-array transmit antenna. The user links are in the radio-frequency (RF) domain.