A Deterministic Terahertz Channel Model for Inter-Satellite Communication Link

Owing to the revolutions in satellite constellation networking and the development of microelectronics, the terahertz band has become an attractive solution for inter-satellite communication links for its promising high date rate. For the accurate estimation of propagation characteristics of THz signals in space, this letter presents a deterministic channel estimation approach. Due to the existence of thermal multilayer insulation (MLI) blankets covering the satellite, the scattering mechanism from the satellite platform at the THz band is complicated and difficult to estimate. In this work, a simplified procedure to model the MLI surface and the physical optics approximation to calculate its scattering are presented. Mento-Carlo simulations are performed to evaluate the impact of the rough MLI surface in channel impulse response and other propagation characteristics.