Abstract

Transmission modulators are under development for free-space bidirectional communications links for applications such as process/sensor monitoring in re- mote/hostile environments, satellite communications, etc. Such systems will utilize transmission modulators in conjunction with comer-cube retroreflectors (rather than just reflection modulators) to accurately return the incident probe beam to its source location. Typically, low power consumption (e.g., from a 5 V battery supply) is required for these applications, but extremely low insertion loss and high contrast ratio are not necessary.

© 1996 Optical Society of America