Analysis and test of transmit-receive isolation of off-axis three-mirror anastigmat optical antenna applied to laser communication

The bi-directional duplex working mode of a transmit-receive integrated optical antenna in laser communication systems has a rigorous requirement on transmission and receiver(T/R) isolation. By using an off-axis three-mirror anastigmat (TMA) optical antenna, backscattered can be significantly reduced, thus achieving high T/R isolation. This paper proposes to design the light exit angle of 5 degrees or larger in the off-axis TMA optical antenna and use the equivalent surface roughness (ESR) to evaluate the surface scattering characteristics of reflector in optical antenna. Therefore, by increasing the ESR of reflector, the isolation of the optical antenna can be improved. In an isolation measurement experiment, the measured isolation of the F150mm off-axis TMA optical antenna was 73 dB, which is consistent with the simulation result. The achieved T/R isolation level meets the requirements for acquiring, tracking, and communication of satellite laser communication systems.