Patent ID: 7286766
Filing Date: 2007-10-23
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. A free space optical data communication method, comprising: receiving incoming light at a telescope, the incoming light encoded with data and traversing an atmospheric free space optical path to the telescope, wherein a phase of a wavefront of the incoming light is at least partially pre-corrected before traversing the atmospheric free space optical path; sensing the wavefront of the incoming light encoded with data and at least partially correcting the phase of the wavefront; optically attenuating the incoming light; detecting an average power level of the attenuated light; generating a voltage that is approximately a log function of an average power level of the attenuated light; and varying the optical attenuation approximately as an exponential function of the voltage to adaptively regulate the average power level of the incoming light in response to variations in a loss of the atmospheric free space optical path.