Optical Communications: History and a Look toward APL’s Future Contributions

Abstract

Over the past 15 years, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and others have developed and demonstrated impressive capabilities and technologies in optical communications. APL has conducted experiments, performed analysis, investigated designs, developed capabilities, coded algorithms, and conducted successful demonstrations. The critical optical communications challenge remaining for APL to solve over the next two decades is not in technology development. It is in partnering with the Department of Defense and national security space communities to apply and implement these technological achievements through the systems engineering and acquisition processes. This article discusses the history of optical communications, APL’s contributions in several domains, current challenges, and the way forward.