Laser communication pointing errors caused by bending deformation of the altitude axis of a T-shaped altitude-azimuth mount

A T-shaped altitude-azimuth mount is used as a platform for laser communication terminal equipment, and its pointing accuracy has an important influence on the link establishment, stable operation, and communication quality of laser communication. The bending deformation of the altitude axis is an important factor affecting the pointing accuracy of a T-shaped altitude-azimuth mount. In this paper, the bending deformation angle of the altitude axis caused by the load gravity was calculated by applying cantilever beam deformation theory, and the mathematical models of the pointing errors caused by bending deformation of the altitude axis were derived by using spherical trigonometry knowledge. Numerical simulations were conducted to analyze the laws of pointing errors. The simulation results show that the bending deformation angle has a great influence on the azimuth pointing error and the parallel error of the two collimation axes. Then two experimental platforms were established to validate the theoretical analyses. The experimental results are consistent with the theoretical results, which prove the correctness of the theoretical derivation.