HAPS Communication Networks: A Tutorial-cum-Survey on Integration with Optical Atmospheric Sensing

TL;DR

This paper reviews the integration of HAPS communication networks with optical atmospheric sensing, highlighting recent advances, architectures, and applications for environmental monitoring and 6G networks.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive survey of HAPS optical communication and sensing integration, outlining a roadmap for implementing DIAL and high-throughput FSO systems on HAPS.

Findings

HAPS enable co-located sensing and communication with high spectral and spatial resolution.

Optical hardware and transmission windows support trace-gas retrieval and high-speed data links.

HAPS outperform satellites and UAVs in certain environmental monitoring and communication scenarios.

Abstract

High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) are emerging as key enablers of future non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), supporting gigabit-class free-space optical (FSO) backhaul links while hosting laser-based sensing payloads. This tutorial and survey reviews recent advances in HAPS optical communication and integration with atmospheric remote sensing via shared optical links. Among several sensing techniques, Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) is identified as most promising due to its range-resolved sensitivity, spectral selectivity, and compatibility with HAPS constraints. A roadmap is outlined for implementing telecom-band DIAL on HAPS alongside high-throughput FSO systems. The paper analyzes architectural and atmospheric advantages of HAPS over terrestrial and satellite nodes, emphasizing spatial-temporal coverage, station-keeping ability, and support for compact laser payloads such as DIAL, in-situ sensors, and multispectral imagers. It highlights the feasibility of co-locating sensing and communication within a shared optical and power envelope, especially in the telecom C-band (1.53-1.57 um), enabling trace-gas retrieval (CO2, CH4, N2O, H2S, O3) while maintaining multi-Gbps downlinks. Suitable HAPS architectures (balloons, UAVs, airships) and use cases are identified where integrated sensing and communication (ISAC)-enabled HAPS outperform satellites and UAVs, including greenhouse gas monitoring, disaster response, air-quality mapping, and 6G NTN extensions. A literature survey for 2005-2025 shows HAPS publications have tripled since 2014, indicating rapid growth. The results confirm that optical hardware, favorable transmission windows, and active R&D are positioning HAPS as a persistent stratospheric layer for 6G ISAC communications and environmental observation.