Prof. Shlomi Arnon

Research and development of laser communication in Israel encompasses many different areas including inter-satellite communication, terrestrial communication and indoor communication. The R&D activity is mainly being carried out in two sectors: academia and industry. Additionally there is some activity in start-up companies. In this paper, I survey several areas of R&D activity to which Israel has contributed. 1) Broadband Laser Inter-satellite Link (BLISL). This is a joint Israeli-German five-year applied research project supported by the DIP foundation. Its objective is to develop technologies and know-how for broadband optical inter-satellite communication terminals for applications on small satellites in LEO/MEO constellations. 2) Urban optical wireless systems. This area has received much attention in academia. The main task is to quantify atmospheric effects on system performance and to apply this information in industry. 3) Short range communication for indoor applications. The main aim here is to develop adaptive techniques 4) Agile laser scanning/steering. This technology is essential for the next generation of optical wireless systems. 5) Atmospheric probing. We discuss a new concept for atmospheric probing known as firefly clustering.