Adaptive Optics pre-compensation for GEO feeder links: the FEEDELIO experiment

Adaptive-Optics (AO) pre-compensation of atmospheric turbulence effects is one of the most promising technologies for achieving very high throughput optical GEO feeder links. However, its great performance has been proven mostly through numerical simulations until now, and experimental work on the subject is still at a very preliminary stage [1]. The FEEDELIO experiment (FEEDELIO for FEEDEr Link adaptive Optics), contracted to ONERA by ESA and described in this paper, goes one step further towards an experimental validation of this concept. This paper describes the experimental implementation of an AO pre-compensated link on a 13 km slant path in Tenerife, Canary Islands. This experiment is designed to be representative of a GEO feeder link, and aims at demonstrating a significant increase of the mean received power and decrease of the power fluctuations thanks to AO. It will also allow to study the impact of the point-ahead angle on overall performance of the AO system.