12 Gbit/s indoor optical wireless communication system with ultrafast beam-steering using tunable VCSEL

Area of Science:

• Optical Wireless Communication (OWC)
• Infrared Communication Systems
• Laser Technology

Background:

• Optical wireless communication (OWC) offers high data speeds and privacy for indoor environments.
• Existing OWC systems often face challenges in achieving compact, cost-effective, and easily installable solutions for high-capacity data transmission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a compact, low-cost, and easily installable indoor OWC system.
• To achieve ultrafast beam-steering and high-capacity point-to-point data transmission.
• To enable flexible, high-speed communication for mobile terminals in limited indoor spaces.

Main Methods:

• Utilized an infrared tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) as the light source.
• Employed array waveguide gratings (AWG) integrated with 6×6 optical fiber arrays as a router for beam-steering.
• Implemented non-return-to-zero on-off keying (NRZ-OOK) modulation for data transmission.

Main Results:

• Achieved ultrafast channel switching within 1.7 µs due to the high tuning rate of the VCSEL.
• Demonstrated a data rate of 12 Gbit/s per channel with high sensitivity over 3.1 m free space at low detected optical power.
• The system proved to be a flexible link for high-speed communication in limited indoor spaces.

Conclusions:

• The proposed indoor OWC system, integrating VCSELs and AWG with optical fiber arrays, offers a compact and cost-effective solution.
• The system successfully enables high-speed (12 Gbit/s per channel) and rapid channel switching (1.7 µs) for indoor wireless communication.
• This technology holds significant potential for enhancing mobile terminal connectivity in confined indoor environments.