MIT Lincoln Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) sponsored by the Department of Defense and operated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. FFRDCs are not-for-profit organizations tasked with assisting the U.S. government with scientific research and analysis, systems development, and systems acquisition to provide novel, cost-effective solutions to complex government problems.



The Laser Communications Group designs, prototypes, analyzes, and tests free-space laser communications systems suitable for a variety of government platforms and environments. Additionally, our research team develops techniques to mitigate fluctuations in signal power caused by turbulence and to lessen wavefront distortions. We perform atmospheric modeling and simulation, and build accurate acquisition, tracking, and pointing subsystems to support highly directional, low-probability-of-intercept communication links. Major efforts include the demonstra...