Free-space optical transmission of multimedia satellite data streams using mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers

Experimental results for an optical free-space high-speed link using direct modulated mid-infrared (lambda = 8.1 mum) quantum cascade lasers are presented, A total of 800 digitally encoded multimedia channels were transmitted. The reliability of the system against weather influence (fog) was experimentally compared to that of a near-infrared (lambda=0.85 mum) link.