Spherical transceivers for ultrafast optical wireless communications

Xian Jin; Blago A. Hristovski; Christopher M. Collier; Simon Geoffroy-Gagnon; Brandon Born; Jonathan F. Holzman

doi:10.1117/12.2208343

24 February 2016 Spherical transceivers for ultrafast optical wireless communications

Xian Jin, Blago A. Hristovski, Christopher M. Collier, Simon Geoffroy-Gagnon, Brandon Born, Jonathan F. Holzman

Proceedings Volume 9744, Optical Components and Materials XIII; 97440F (2016) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2208343
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2016, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Optical wireless communications (OWC) offers the potential for high-speed and mobile operation in indoor networks. Such OWC systems often employ a fixed transmitter grid and mobile transceivers, with the mobile transceivers carrying out bi-directional communication via active downlinks (ideally with high-speed signal detection) and passive uplinks (ideally with broad angular retroreflection and high-speed modulation). It can be challenging to integrate all of these bidirectional communication capabilities within the mobile transceivers, however, as there is a simultaneous desire for compact packaging. With this in mind, the work presented here introduces a new form of transceiver for bi-directional OWC systems. The transceiver incorporates radial photoconductive switches (for high-speed signal detection) and a spherical retro-modulator (for broad angular retroreflection and high-speed all-optical modulation). All-optical retromodulation are investigated by way of theoretical models and experimental testing, for spherical retro-modulators comprised of three glasses, N-BK7, N-LASF9, and S-LAH79, having differing levels of refraction and nonlinearity. It is found that the spherical retro-modulator comprised of S-LAH79, with a refractive index of n ≈ 2 and a Kerr nonlinear index of n₂ ≈ (1.8 ± 0.1) × 10^-15 cm²/W, yields both broad angular retroreflection (over a solid angle of 2π steradians) and ultrafast modulation (over a duration of 120 fs). Such transceivers can become important elements for all-optical implementations in future bi-directional OWC systems.

Citation Download Citation

Xian Jin, Blago A. Hristovski, Christopher M. Collier, Simon Geoffroy-Gagnon, Brandon Born, and Jonathan F. Holzman "Spherical transceivers for ultrafast optical wireless communications", Proc. SPIE 9744, Optical Components and Materials XIII, 97440F (24 February 2016); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2208343

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