These effects decide whether the link holds its power budget under real conditions, and testing them on hardware is costly and slow. That is why more and more R&D teams are starting with simulation instead.
EVENT: On September 14, 2026, Dr. Ahmad Atieh (VP of Optical Systems, Optiwave) will present at the EPIC meeting Photonics for Earth-to-Space Optical Communication, showing how physically accurate simulation helps model atmospheric-channel effects, temporal and spatial scintillation, and adaptive optics — before committing any budget to hardware.
Three challenges that need to be broken down
Atmospheric turbulence. Fluctuations in the air's refractive index blur and deflect the beam. Without a model of this effect, a link budget computed "in a vacuum" has no coverage in the field.
Scintillation (temporal and spatial). Random fluctuations in received power cause momentary signal fades. The key is estimating their statistics (scintillation variance, fade probability) to choose the right power margin and coding strategy.
Pointing and tracking. With a narrow laser beam, even a small aiming error means a large power loss. Simulation lets you determine the pointing-error budget a stable link requires.
How OptiSystem models the link — two components, two scenarios
OptiSystem is a system-level environment for simulating photonic links. For free-space transmission it provides two dedicated components, and the choice between them depends on what the main source of loss is in a given link.
The FSO (Free Space Optics) component. Models transmission of a modulated visible or infrared beam through the atmosphere. In the example FSO link (785 nm, a range on the order of 200 m), the main penalty comes from atmospheric attenuation. This is the scenario for terrestrial links and shorter distances.
FSO link model in OptiSystem: 785 nm transmitter, 200 m range, with atmospheric attenuation, WDM spectral analysis, optical power and time-domain analysis. /Optiwave/
The OWC / WOC (Optical Wireless Communication) component. Intended for long distances, where atmospheric attenuation stops being the main problem and pointing error takes over. This is exactly the case for Earth-to-space satellite links (example model: 1550 nm, a range on the order of 200 km). The simulation shows the degradation in link quality caused by pointing errors between the transmitter and the receiver.
OWC (satellite) link model in OptiSystem: 1550 nm transmitter, 200 km range, with a BER analyzer and power/time-domain visualization on both sides of the link. /Optiwave/
In both variants you build a complete chain:
laser Tx → channel → receiver
and compute the power budget and transmission quality (BER, Q-factor) as a function of the parameters. Parameter sweeps let you scan distance, aperture, power and pointing error, and optimize the design before anything reaches the optical bench.
The result: a designer can check dozens of link-architecture variants in a few hours, instead of weeks of hardware testing.
Who this matters to in Poland and the CEE region
This topic is especially relevant for space-sector teams (ESA/POLSA projects, laser downlinks), research institutions and universities working on photonics and optical telecommunications, and R&D companies designing FSO terminals and systems.
How to get started
We are Optiwave's authorized representative in Poland and the CEE region. We provide OptiSystem licenses, advice on choosing the right modules, and implementation support.
📩 Request an OptiSystem trial → trial form (or trial@spectropol.pl)
💬 Let's talk about your FSO link project → contact us
🔗 Register for the EPIC meeting (Sep 14) → epic-photonics.com
References
- S. Bloom, E. Korevaar, J. Schuster, H. Willebrand, "Understanding the performance of free-space optics", Journal of Optical Networking, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 178–200, June 2003.
- A. Polishuk, S. Arnon, "Optimization of a laser satellite communication system with an optical preamplifier", J. Optical Society of America, vol. 21, no. 7, pp. 1307–1315, July 2004.
- S. Arnon, "Performance of a laser satellite network with an optical preamplifier", J. Optical Society of America, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 708–715, April 2005.
Source of the event topic: EPIC / Optiwave. The material above is our own editorial coverage for the PL/CEE market.