 |
 |
 |
Date Announced: 11 Feb 2025
Radiation-hardened optical fibers and lithium niobate modulators feature in laser terminal providing high-speed space link.
Exail announces its key role in the successful very high-speed (10 Gbps) optical downlink and uplink tests between the TELEO geostationary in-orbit demonstrator and ground stations. Developed by Airbus Defense & Space in collaboration with CNES (French Space Agency) and hosted aboard the Arabsat Badr-8 satellite, TELEO features a laser terminal equipped with an optical transceiver assembled and space-qualified by Exail. This milestone demonstrates Exail’s capability to develop complex space optical communication projects.
The optical transceiver fully integrated by Exail is composed of a transmitter and a receiver channel built with key sub-components. These include Exail’s Low Noise Optical Amplifier (LNOA) based on radiation-hardened doped optical fibers manufactured in-house and matching electronics, lithium-niobate (LiNbO3) modulators, and an RF amplifier. The ESA ARTES project “FOLC2” has enabled the design, production and development of these key building blocks.
Orbiting 36,000 kilometers above Earth in geostationary orbit, TELEO demonstrates exceptional capabilities under the most demanding conditions. Geostationary satellites face extreme temperature variations and are meant to operate around 10-15 years. The TELEO demonstrator proves that Exail can manufacture and integrate optical components and sub-systems that operate in harsh environments. These cutting-edge solutions are also perfectly adapted to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) projects, within standardized Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) product lines.
Exail also contributed to the optical ground stations involved in the TELEO demonstration, providing fiber-based amplifiers (LNOA) and transceiver terminals for reception and transmission front-end channels (ModBox OGS).
"This collaboration with Airbus marks a significant step forward for the deployment of optical technologies in space." says Hervé Gouraud, Photonics Commercial Director at Exail. “The success of TELEO validates the performance of our TLR9 optical components and paves the way for future operational systems, including high contrast electro-optical modulators for high-speed telecommunication and quantum communication (QKD) system in space. We are proud to advance optical technologies in space and are eager to contribute to upcoming projects.”
Among Exail’s current portfolio of cutting-edge solutions for space is the TRL6 Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MUX/DEMUX), based on free-space micro-optical assemblies. This compact, high-performance solution optimizes the footprint of sub-systems for space applications while ensuring robustness across a wide temperature range. Already deployed in optical ground stations, the MUX/DEMUX is under space qualification until July 2025 in the framework of the CO-OP project1, a French consortium led by CNES which aims to deliver a 100 Gbps space optical link.
Exail has also developed a strong experience in manufacturing free-space optical coherent detectors for both terrestrial and space applications (TRL9). Leveraging its technological expertise, Exail can serve as a space integrator for partner’s coherent detection solution to deliver opto-electronic packages enabling efficient demodulation.
1 funded by the post-pandemic France’s economic stimulus plan “Relaunch France”
Source: Exail
E-mail: info@exail.com
Web Site: www.exail.com
| © 2025 SPIE Europe |
|
