Abstract
Emergence of sensor networks for data-procurement in wide-ranging
applications, including defense, medical, environmental and structural
health monitoring, has led to development of low-power miniature devices
employing radio frequency (RF) communications. In contrast to RF, optical
devices are smaller and consume less power; reflection, diffraction, and
scattering from aerosols help distribute signal over large areas; and
optical wireless provides freedom from interference and eavesdropping within
an opaque enclosure. Optics can accommodate high-bandwidth transmission of
multimedia in aircrafts, where RF is shunned due to interference with
control signals. These motivate use of optical wireless as a mode of
communication in sensor networks. We have set up and experimented on an
infrared laser transceiver test-bed with ceiling used as reflector to
establish an intensity-modulated/direct-detected (IM/DD) link. Frequency
measurements are conducted to characterize the link up to 1 GHz, and are
transformed to obtain impulse responses and eye diagrams. These experimental
findings demonstrate the capability of indoor optical wireless links of
delivering 1 gigabit per second and beyond, without intersymbol
interference. Thus, a broadband infrastructure can be deployed allowing
high-quality audio-visual data communication among sensor nodes.
© 2010 IEEE
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