Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability

To enable accurate evaluation of satellite laser communication terminals under solar outage interference, this paper presents the design and implementation of a solar radiation simulation system targeting the 1540–1560 nm communication band. The system reconstructs co-propagating interference condit...

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Main Authors: Zhen Mao, Zhaohui Li, Yong Liu, Limin Gao, Jianke Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/15/4655
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author Zhen Mao
Zhaohui Li
Yong Liu
Limin Gao
Jianke Zhao
author_facet Zhen Mao
Zhaohui Li
Yong Liu
Limin Gao
Jianke Zhao
author_sort Zhen Mao
collection DOAJ
description To enable accurate evaluation of satellite laser communication terminals under solar outage interference, this paper presents the design and implementation of a solar radiation simulation system targeting the 1540–1560 nm communication band. The system reconstructs co-propagating interference conditions through standardized and continuously tunable output, based on high irradiance and spectral uniformity. A compound beam homogenization structure—combining a multimode fiber and an apodizator—achieves 85.8% far-field uniformity over a 200 mm aperture. A power–spectrum co-optimization strategy is introduced for filter design, achieving a spectral matching degree of 78%. The system supports a tunable output from 2.5 to 130 mW with a 50× dynamic range and maintains power control accuracy within ±0.9%. To suppress internal background interference, a <i>BRDF</i>-based optical scattering model is established to trace primary and secondary stray light paths. Simulation results show that by maintaining the surface roughness of key mirrors below 2 nm and incorporating a U-shaped reflective light trap, stray light levels can be reduced to 5.13 × 10<sup>−12</sup> W, ensuring stable detection of a 10<sup>−10</sup> W signal at a 10:1 signal-to-background ratio. Experimental validation confirms that the system can faithfully reproduce solar outage conditions within a ±3° field of view, achieving consistent performance in spectrum shaping, irradiance uniformity, and background suppression. The proposed platform provides a standardized and practical testbed for ground-based anti-interference assessment of optical communication terminals.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-fa3921c341a9492ebc4afc4a3f6dabec2025-08-20T03:36:30ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-07-012515465510.3390/s25154655Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression CapabilityZhen Mao0Zhaohui Li1Yong Liu2Limin Gao3Jianke Zhao4Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaXi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaXi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaXi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaXi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, ChinaTo enable accurate evaluation of satellite laser communication terminals under solar outage interference, this paper presents the design and implementation of a solar radiation simulation system targeting the 1540–1560 nm communication band. The system reconstructs co-propagating interference conditions through standardized and continuously tunable output, based on high irradiance and spectral uniformity. A compound beam homogenization structure—combining a multimode fiber and an apodizator—achieves 85.8% far-field uniformity over a 200 mm aperture. A power–spectrum co-optimization strategy is introduced for filter design, achieving a spectral matching degree of 78%. The system supports a tunable output from 2.5 to 130 mW with a 50× dynamic range and maintains power control accuracy within ±0.9%. To suppress internal background interference, a <i>BRDF</i>-based optical scattering model is established to trace primary and secondary stray light paths. Simulation results show that by maintaining the surface roughness of key mirrors below 2 nm and incorporating a U-shaped reflective light trap, stray light levels can be reduced to 5.13 × 10<sup>−12</sup> W, ensuring stable detection of a 10<sup>−10</sup> W signal at a 10:1 signal-to-background ratio. Experimental validation confirms that the system can faithfully reproduce solar outage conditions within a ±3° field of view, achieving consistent performance in spectrum shaping, irradiance uniformity, and background suppression. The proposed platform provides a standardized and practical testbed for ground-based anti-interference assessment of optical communication terminals.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/15/4655Sun outagestray lightsolar radiationoptical trapspectrum matchirradiance uniformity
spellingShingle Zhen Mao
Zhaohui Li
Yong Liu
Limin Gao
Jianke Zhao
Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability
Sensors
Sun outage
stray light
solar radiation
optical trap
spectrum match
irradiance uniformity
title Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability
title_full Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability
title_fullStr Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability
title_full_unstemmed Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability
title_short Design and Implementation of a Sun Outage Simulation System with High Uniformity and Stray Light Suppression Capability
title_sort design and implementation of a sun outage simulation system with high uniformity and stray light suppression capability
topic Sun outage
stray light
solar radiation
optical trap
spectrum match
irradiance uniformity
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/15/4655
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AT yongliu designandimplementationofasunoutagesimulationsystemwithhighuniformityandstraylightsuppressioncapability
AT limingao designandimplementationofasunoutagesimulationsystemwithhighuniformityandstraylightsuppressioncapability
AT jiankezhao designandimplementationofasunoutagesimulationsystemwithhighuniformityandstraylightsuppressioncapability