Gigabit optical wireless communication system for personal area networking

A new wireless access system incorporating high bandwidth line-of-sight free space optical wireless is described and demonstrated. This system is capable of supporting several gigabits/second up-stream and down-stream data transmission and is ideally suited for high bandwidth indoor applications such as personal area networks. A simple, user friendly system of beam alignment is used between a central station and multiple local subscribers. Even within real-world office scenarios with limited mobility, alignment is performed easily. Using a modest transmitted power of only 5dBm, we demonstrate satisfactory performance of bit error rates better than 10^-9 over the entire room while serving up to 8 subscribers connected to a single central station. Using simulations, the effectiveness of the proposed system architecture is investigated and the key performance tradeoffs identified. Proof-of-concept experiments have also been carried that validate the simulation model. Initial experimental results successfully demonstrate that the system is capable of supporting 1-10 Gbps over a 2-6 meter bidirectional optical wireless link in an indoor environment for the first time.