ESA Open Invitation to Tender AO9673
Open Date: 12/02/2020
Closing Date: 29/04/2020 13:00:00

Status: ISSUED
Reference Nr.: 18.1TT.75
Prog. Ref.: ScyLight
Budget Ref.: E/0502-01A – ScyLight
Special Prov.: DK+FR+DE+IT+NL+CH+GB+IE+AT+LU+CZ+RO+CA+NO
Tender Type: C
Price Range: 200-500 KEURO
Products: Satellites & Probes / Parts / Mechanical, Optical and Magnetic parts / Optical Parts (lenses, beam-splitters, …)
Technology Domains: Optics / Optical Component Technology and Materials / Optical Components / Optoelectronics / Photonics / RF Photonics
Establishment: ESTEC
Directorate: Directorate Telecom & Integrated Applica
Department: Telecom Technologies,Product&Systems Dep
Division: Technologies and Products Division
Contract Officer: Mezzadri, Monica
Industrial Policy Measure: N/A – Not apply
Last Update Date: 12/02/2020
Update Reason: Tender issue

The objective of the activity is to define basic principles for the design of a high power optical beam combination and to demonstrate the feasibility of the selected design in a breadboard demonstrator. While the breadboard shall be developed for space applications an optimized concept shall also be elaborated for operation in a feeder-link ground station that can withstand high optical powers. Targeted Improvements:The means to combine the outputs of multiple optical amplifiers into a single high power optical beam for terabit feeder links. Description: Optical feeder-links to and from future terabit telecommunication satellites will require high power transmit beams. A single optical amplifier cannot generate the power required, but rather the output beams of several amplifiers, operating at different wavelengths in the optical C- and L-band (1550nm) need to be combined. To enable this, high power beamcombiners, that inject multiple beams, from individual optical amplifiers, into a single combined spatial optical mode are required. In this activity, a high power beam combiner breadboard shall be designed, manufactured and tested. The power combiner shall demonstrated handling of 100W optical power for use in space applications, meeting the envelope, power and mass constraints associated with a satellite. In addition an optimized concept shall be elaborated for operation at more than 1000W for use in a feeder-link ground station.