FREE SPACE OPTICS
(FSO)
WIRELESS LINKS AT
THE SPEED OF LIGHT
WISAM ABDURAHIMAN
INTRODUCTION
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In telecommunications, Free Space Optics (FSO) is an
optical communication technology that uses light propagating in
free space to transmit data between two points. The technology
is useful where the physical connections by the means of fiber
optic cable are impractical due to high costs or other
considerations. Free Space Optics (FSO) communications, also
called Free Space Photonics (FSP) or Optical Wireless, refers to
the transmission of modulated visible or infrared (IR) beams
through the atmosphere to obtain optical communications. Like
fiber, Free Space Optics (FSO) uses lasers to transmit data, but
instead of enclosing the data stream in a glass fiber, it is
transmitted through the air.
Principle
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Free Space Optics (FSO) works on the same
basic principle as Infrared television remote
controls, wireless keyboards or wireless Palm
devices. Unlike radio and microwave systems,
Free Space Optics (FSO) is an optical
technology and no spectrum licensing or
frequency coordination with other users is
required, interference from or to other
systems or equipment is not a concern, and
the point-to-point laser signal is extremely
difficult to intercept, and therefore secure
FSO: Optical or Wireless?
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Speed of fiber — flexibility of wireless.
Flexibility of wireless optical transmission at speeds of up to
1.25 Gbps and, in the future, is capable of speeds of 10 Gbps using
WDM.
Eliminates the need to buy expensive spectrum.
Requires no municipal license approvals worldwide.
Optical Wireless Communications Technology
for
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Voice / Video / Data
…at the Speed of Light!
Free Space Optics is an optical wireless,
line-of-sight, broadband (1.5 Mbps-2.5 Gbps)
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How Free Space Optics (FSO) Works
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•Free Space Optics (FSO)
transmits invisible, eye-safe light
beams from one "telescope" to
another using infrared lasers
•The beams of light in Free Space
Optics (FSO) systems are
transmitted by laser light focused
on highly sensitive photon
detector receivers. These
receivers are telescopic lenses
able to collect the photon stream
and transmit digital data
Commercially available systems
•
offer capacities in the range of
100 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps, and
demonstration systems report
data rates as high as 160 Gbps
8 Eye-Safety
A laser transmitter which is safe when
viewed by the eye is designated IEC
Class 1M
. It is possible to design eye-safe laser
transmitters at both the 800 nm and 1550 nm
wavelengths but the allowable safe laser
power is about fifty times higher at 1550 nm.
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Principle advantages of FSO are:
FSO systems offers a flexible networking solution
virtually unlimited bandwidth, low cost, ease and speed of
deployment .
Freedom from licensing and regulation translates into ease,
speed and low cost of deployment
The only essential for FSO is line of sight between the two ends of
the link
•)
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Advantages contd…
• Easily upgraded
• Roof-top or through window operation
• No latency
• Highly Secure (wide military
applications)
• Compatible with WDM technology
• Low power consumption
• Immunity from interference
• Microwave Backup link (optional )
Free Space Optics (FSO)
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Security
FSO laser beams cannot be detected with spectrum
analyzers or RF meters.
It requires a matching Free Space Optics (FSO)
transceiver carefully aligned to complete the
transmission. Interception is very difficult and
extremely unlikely.
The laser beams generated by Free Space Optics
(FSO) systems are narrow and invisible, making
them harder to find and even harder to intercept
and crack .
Data can be transmitted over an encrypted
connection adding to the degree of security
available in FSO network transmissions.
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The following protocols have been wirelessly
transmitted by laser communication:
• Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet
• FDDI
• ATM (OC-3, OC-12, OC-24)
Using WDM 160 Gbps in the lab
There are literally dozens of distinct
FSO models to choose from:
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15 FSO system mounted inside
16 FSO systems mounted outside
Atmospheric effects on FSO
Free Space Optics uses the infrared portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum between visible light and
microwaves
Atmospheric effects such as fog, snow, rain, smog, sand-
storms and scintillation (thermal shimmer) all cause
attenuation of the infrared signal as it passes through the
atmosphere
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Simple Link Budget Example
Weather Loss Link Range
Clear 1 dB/km 50 km
Haze 5 dB/km 10 km
Fog 50 dB/km 1 km
Heavy Fog 350 dB/km 143 m
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How to overcome ??
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TECHNICAL
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SPECIFICATIONS
Transmission rates :100 - 715 Mbps
Operational range :3 dB/km: clear air: 400m to 5500m
10 dB/km: extreme rain: 400m to 2400m
Laser output power :560 mW
Free-space wavelength :1550 nm
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CONCLUSION
The broader market for FSO-based technology did not
emerge until late 2000 when it became clear that fiber-optic
cable would not reach into every building in the near future.
Today, it is increasingly finding its way into a range of
enterprise and service provider applications. The costs and
challenges associated with trenching fiber in metropolitan
areas can be prohibitive, yet bandwidth demands are
increasing, particularly in the "last mile." In many cities, these
demands are outstripping service providers' ability to deploy
fiber-optic cable. Combined with shrinking capital budgets,
other gaps and applications in service providers' networks
must also be addressed through viable alternatives such as
FSO-based, optical wireless products.
REFERENCES
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Free-space Optics: Propagation And Communication
-Olivier Bouchet, Herve Sizun, Christian Boisrobert
Planar-integrated free-space optics: an integration technique for
3D microoptics -Jahns.J,Jarczynski.M.
Adaptive Optics in Astronomy ,1999, Cambridge University
Press - Francois Roddier.
millimeter Through Visible Frequency Waves Through Aerosols-
Particle Modeling, Reflectivity and Attenuation
-Kontogeorgakis, Christos.
Free Space Optics. - Heinz Willebrand
Optical Communication Dictionary - Lawrence Harte
Deep space optical communications - Hamid Hemmati
THANK YOU
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