It's easy to get lost and mesmerized amongst the rainbow of colors bouncing off the mirrors in the photonics lab at Systems Service Center Pacific (SSC Pacific). The hypnotic colors reflected are, in fact, lasers and the kaleidoscope light show is the future of data transmission.
For Dr. Burton Neuner III, a physicist at SSC Pacific in San Diego, lasers aren't just something to joke around about ... it's becoming an everyday reality.
"What we are working on is laser communication to enable higher data rates and more information so that the warfighter can make better decisions," said Neuner. "The reason we want to do that is because currently in the undersea environment we have acoustics and radio frequency communications, both are very well established and they are effective. The problem is the data rates are low compared to optical communications."
Optical communications essentially means using light to carry information. Being performed visually or by using electronic devices, this mode of communication means greater data rates are possible and more information can be transmitted. The use of laser technologies will make transferring video and high resolution photographs, for instance, not just probable but possible.
"The idea of better undersea information dominance enabled by lasers has been around for some time ... the difficulty has been one of technology," said Neuner. "We are entering a new regime where technology is continually improving, costs are going down, and sizes are getting smaller, because we know size, weight and power are very critical to deployed systems. So, now is really a great time to be expanding our capabilities."
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