Buffered laser communication link

摘要

A transceiver for a two-way laser beam link in a communications system handles data blocks and stand-down blocks on both in-coming and out-going laser beams. The transceiver includes a detector unit which monitors the in-coming laser beam, and sends an interrupt signal on its out-going beam whenever the quality of the in-coming beam passes a predetermined threshold. Additionally, the transceiver includes an injector for inserting stand-down blocks onto its out-going beam in response to interrupt signals that are received on its in-coming beam. A router is provided at the transceiver for removing stand-down blocks from its in-coming beam. Appropriate buffers are provided at the transceiver so that laser transmissions with other transceivers can be made at a baud rate which is approximately twice as fast as the data signaling rate used on non-laser connections between each transceiver and other components of the system.