Simple Optical Antenna Pattern

The Simple Optical Antenna Model uses a constant gain value for the entire beam. This antenna is specific to a Laser transmitter or receiver.

This antenna uses a polar coordinate system.

Field	Description
Design Frequency	The frequency of the antenna. For an embedded antenna on a receiver, transmitter or radar, this value corresponds to the Frequency entered on the Model Specs tab for the transmitter or receiver and the Transmitter Specs tab for the Radar. For an antenna linked to a receiver, transmitter, or radar, the Antenna Design Frequency value gets overridden by the Frequency value set on the Model Specs tab for the transmitter or receiver, and the on the Transmitter Specs tab for the Radar. However, when computing the antenna's gain matrix (or a link budget, etc.) from one of the objects linking to the antenna, that other object's frequency settings override the antenna's Design Frequency setting.
Gain	The antenna gain is constant. This value is valid if Compute Gain is not selected.
Area	The area of the main light-focusing optical aperture, measured in m^2. Valid if Compute Gain is selected. Valid if Compute Gain is selected.
Efficiency	A measure of the light transmittance through the optical path, ranging from 0 (no light transmitted) to 100 percent (no attenuation, that is, all light transmitted). The gain value is queried first. If it is specified as zero, the gain is computed from: G_xmtr = (4A/²) where A = optics aperture area, = laser wavelength = c/f, and = optics efficiency. Lambert, S.G., Laser Communication in Space, equation 3.88. Valid if Compute Gain is selected.
Computed Gain	Computed from the Design Frequency, Area, and Efficiency values. It overrides the Gain value if Compute Gain is selected.