With their work about “Integrated Sensing and Communication for Satellite FSO: Beacon-Aided Turbulence Profiling and Phase Pre-Compensation“, Andreas Rittler and Dr.-Ing. Esther Renner (Chair of Microwaves and Photonics) won the SAOT Innovation Award 2026.

Optical free-space communication using laser radiation between ground stations and satellites offers high potential for data transmission with very high bandwidths. However, atmospheric turbulence remains a limiting factor for this transmission method.

Within the scope of the SAOT Innovation Award, an innovative approach based on optical reflectometry methods as utilized in fiber-optic sensing will be investigated. The objective is to achieve spatially resolved detection of Rayleigh backscattering along the propagation path of the communication laser in order to accurately infer local atmospheric turbulence and compensate for it accordingly.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Vossiek

Chair of Microwaves and Photonics