Although Ernesto Ciaramella has more than 25 years’ experience in optical communications research, his recent work focuses on optical wireless communications (OWC).
‘[This] is an attractive, emerging area, with potential applications that cover a wide range of application scenarios, e.g. including short indoor communications, long outdoor communications, and even underwater links.’
One particular focus, however, is in space-based optical communications: ‘We are exploring various attractive applications of OWC in the space domain. A few months ago, we demonstrated OWC intra-satellite links, in a realistic satellite mock-up. Today, we are involved in the design of OWC links from Earth to satellites, and even to the Moon.’
Since 2019, Ciaramella has been the principal investigator of TOWS (Transmission of Optical Wireless signals on telecom Satellites), an ESA-funded project on the development of OWC spacecraft systems. He is also the coordinator of Project FOCS (Free-space Optical Communications for Space applications), funded by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana).
‘In intra-satellite OWC, we plan to further shrink our prototypes and make them more flexible, to support different protocols for the onboard equipment communications. Everything that goes on a satellite must be deeply tested and be space-qualified, but we are already making plans to send prototypes on real satellites, for tests that should demonstrate the robustness.’
You can find Ciaramella online at www.linkedin.com/in/ernesto-ciaramella-2836a873/. He plans to attend OFC 2023.
Organisation: Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna University
Role: Full Professor
Based in: Pisa, Italy
Education: Laurea Degree in Physics cum laude