Free-space Transmission Research Articles

Intensity noise and modulation dynamics of an epitaxial mid-infrared interband cascade laser on silicon

Interband cascade lasers typically have significantly lower threshold current and power consumption than quantum cascade lasers. They can also have advantages regarding costs and compactness with the photonic integration onto silicon substrates by epitaxial growth. This research introduces a novel examination of the relative intensity noise and the modulation dynamics of a silicon-based Fabry–Perot interband cascade laser emitting at 3.5 μm. The investigation delves into crucial parameters, such as relaxation oscillation frequency, differential gain, gain compression, and K-factor. The resonance patterns identified in relative intensity noise curves can provide essential insights for the thorough characterization of high-defect mid-infrared semiconductor structures intended for high-speed applications. Moreover, this study demonstrates the feasibility of reaching 10 Gbit/s free-space transmission using a silicon-based interband cascade laser in conjunction with an interband cascade infrared photodetector.

Transmission characterization of atmospheric laser communication based on an all-optical wavelength converter

We demonstrate a free-space optical (FSO) communication scheme based on an all-optical wavelength converter (AOWC). An all-optical wavelength converter is constructed based on the four-wave mixing (FWM) effect, and information replication is achieved by adjusting the pump power and wavelength spacing to convert the light. The feasibility and stability of each channel in a strong turbulent channel are verified through an eye diagram and bit error rate testing, with a total transmission rate of 30 Gb/s. It has been proven that improving conversion efficiency helps to reduce the bit error rate of transmitted signals. This article presents an experimental analysis of free-space information transmission based on AOWC for the first time, providing a reference for establishing high-speed multiplexing communication.

Practical Performance Analysis of MDI-QKD with Orbital Angular Momentum on UAV Relay Platform.

The integration of terrestrial- and satellite-based quantum key distribution (QKD) experiments has markedly advanced global-scale quantum networks, showcasing the growing maturity of quantum technologies. Notably, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as relay nodes has emerged as a promising method to overcome the inherent limitations of fiber-based and low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connections. This paper introduces a protocol for measurement-device-independent QKD (MDI-QKD) using photon orbital angular momentum (OAM) encoding, with UAVs as relay platforms. Leveraging UAV mobility, the protocol establishes a secure and efficient link, mitigating threats from untrusted UAVs. Photon OAM encoding addresses reference frame alignment issues exacerbated by UAV jitter. A comprehensive analysis of atmospheric turbulence, state-dependent diffraction (SDD), weather visibility, and pointing errors on free-space OAM-state transmission systems was conducted. This analysis elucidates the relationship between the key generation rate and propagation distance for the proposed protocol. Results indicate that considering SDD significantly decreases the key rate, halving previous data results. Furthermore, the study identifies a maximum channel loss capacity of 26 dB for the UAV relay platform. This result is pivotal in setting realistic parameters for the deployment of UAV-based quantum communications and lays the foundation for practical implementation strategies in the field.

Photonic-assisted W-band flexible integrated sensing and communication system for fiber-wireless network based on CE-LFM-OFDM.

We have experimentally demonstrated a constant envelope linear frequency modulated orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CE-LFM-OFDM) signal by employing an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal to phase modulate the linear frequency modulation (LFM) carrier. The experimental verification was conducted in the photonic-based integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system working at 94.5 GHz. In our system, a 10-km optical fiber and a 1-m free space transmission are incorporated, achieving seamless fiber-wireless networks. As a result, we achieved data rates ranging from 8 to 15.4 Gbit/s and range resolution ranging from 1.5 to 7.5 cm, respectively.

47 Gbps 100 m ultra-high-speed free-space visible light tricolor laser communication system utilizing time domain hybrid Huffman coding.

The escalating demand for greater transmission capacities in the forthcoming 6 G communication landscapes necessitates the investigation of upper segments of the electromagnetic spectrum by both academic institutions and the industrial sector. This effort aims to circumvent the impending spectrum resource limitations. Against this backdrop, laser diodes (LDs) emerge as a critical technology for high-speed visible light communication (VLC), owing to their significant modulation bandwidth potential. This paper details what we believe to be a novel visible light laser communication (VLLC) system powered by red/green/blue (RGB) tricolor laser diodes. It highlights a successful 100-meter free-space transmission achieved through a time domain hybrid huffman coding (TDHHC) technique. The system's performance review unveiled impressive data transmission rates for the red, green, and blue laser diodes channels at 16.852 Gbps, 14.442 Gbps, and 15.755 Gbps, respectively, culminating in a cumulative transmission rate of 47.049 Gbps while maintaining a bit error rate (BER) beneath the stringent threshold of 3.8E-3, mandated by 7% hard decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) standards. As far as we known, this marks the highest data rate documented in a long-distance tricolor VLLC system.

Nanoscale optical nonreciprocity with nonlinear metasurfaces

Optical nonreciprocity is manifested as a difference in the transmission of light for the opposite directions of excitation. Nonreciprocal optics is traditionally realized with relatively bulky components such as optical isolators based on the Faraday rotation, hindering the miniaturization and integration of optical systems. Here we demonstrate free-space nonreciprocal transmission through a metasurface comprised of a two-dimensional array of nanoresonators made of silicon hybridized with vanadium dioxide (VO2). This effect arises from the magneto-electric coupling between Mie modes supported by the resonator. Nonreciprocal response of the nanoresonators occurs without the need for external bias; instead, reciprocity is broken by the incident light triggering the VO2 phase transition for only one direction of incidence. Nonreciprocal transmission is broadband covering over 100 nm in the telecommunication range in the vicinity of λ = 1.5 µm. Each nanoresonator unit cell occupies only ~0.1 λ3 in volume, with the metasurface thickness measuring about half-a-micron. Our self-biased nanoresonators exhibit nonreciprocity down to very low levels of intensity on the order of 150 W/cm2 or a µW per nanoresonator. We estimate picosecond-scale transmission fall times and sub-microsecond scale transmission rise. Our demonstration brings low-power, broadband and bias-free optical nonreciprocity to the nanoscale.

Non-destructive microwave techniques for the quantification and elimination of moisture in cultural heritage monuments

In this paper, we present our experimental methodology, which was developed to assess and eliminate the excess moisture levels in the masonry of a Roman archeological monument, namely the Mensa Ponderaria of Tivoli, which is an important landmark dating back to the first century A.D. The need to keep interventions to a minimum were crucial factors for choosing microwave techniques as a non-destructive method for removal and moisture infiltration measurements in the walls. We used a microwave generator connected to a horn antenna to increase the temperature locally at the point of treatment and achieve the elimination of moisture. Additionally, to quantify the amount of eliminated water, we used a free space transmission measurement by two patch micro-strip fed antennas with a resonance at 2.62 GHz connected to a vector network analyser (VNA). S-parameters were measured at a frequency range 2–3 GHz. The phase shift method was used to extract the effective dielectric permittivity by the phase of the transmission S21 parameter. In the final step, we derived the volumetric water content of the wall θ (%) based on the dielectric permittivity of the wall material (tuff). Measurements were performed at several points of the masonry, which were previously treated with microwaves or remained without treatment for comparison. We report an average of 139 gr in water extraction from the treated areas of the masonry with the mild treatment protocol we used, with the possibility of further increase with longer or higher-power drying cycles.

Investigations on OFDM UAV-based free-space optical transmission system with scintillation mitigation for optical wireless communication-to-ground links in atmospheric turbulence

The potential integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with free space optical (FSO) communication systems stands as a promising innovation in the realm of wireless network infrastructures. This study presents a comprehensive investigation into the application of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) in conjunction with UAV-based FSO technology, with a specific focus on establishing robust wireless communication links to ground sites within the evolving landscape of 5G networks. The research introduces a pioneering 4-level quadrature amplitude modulation (4-QAM)-OFDM-FSO framework tailored for UAV-to-ground communication, revolutionizing the prospects for seamless and high-throughput data transmission within dynamic network environments. Through comprehensive simulations and theoretical analyses, we unveil the system's efficacy in mitigating atmospheric turbulence, achieving heightened signal integrity, and ensuring performance adaptability over varying link distances, thus significantly addressing present limitations in traditional wireless communication models. Anchored within the context of modern wireless network infrastructures, this work serves as a crucial stepping stone for the practical application of OFDM-UAV-FSO communication systems, representing a paradigm shift in fostering resilient and agile wireless connectivity in the era of 5G networks. The inception of cutting-edge wireless networks expected to outperform the capabilities of 5G necessitates an infrastructure that can handle vast amounts of data. This infrastructure must be not only cost-effective and simple to deploy but also readily scalable to accommodate the diverse demands of front-haul and backhaul applications. Motivated by the growing interest in harnessing UAVs to extend the reach and enhance the operational efficacy of conventional cellular networks, this work introduces a novel application of UAV-ground station connections. The concept employs FSO to facilitate network traffic within both the segments. To optimize throughput, resilience, and spectral efficiency, the application of OFDM is proposed. The research considers the transmission of a 20 Gbps 4-QAM data signal across various channel conditions. It thoroughly assesses the performance implications of factors such as transmission distance and beam divergence. The study explores the correlation between pointing error, scintillation, beam divergence angle, and average spectral efficiency. A slight increase in pointing error results in a rapid rise in the scintillation index, while a larger beam divergence angle can help minimize the impact of scintillation. Adapting the beam's divergence angle based on the pointing error between the optical transceivers can reduce the effects of scintillation and improve the average spectral efficiency and channel capacity. Additionally, the relationship between pointing error, scintillation, and the determination of the optical beam divergence angle in terms of beam divergence and average spectral efficiency and channel capacity is examined, and theoretical evaluations further confirm the method's effectiveness in reducing scintillation in the presence of pointing errors. Furthermore, the simultaneous use of OFDM adaptive beam divergence control and modulation could significantly enhance the data rate. This approach aims to reduce the impact of scintillation in UAV FSO links, which often experience significant losses due to unpredictable fluctuations in the atmosphere's refractive index. The results of the simulations indicate that the integrated 4-QAM-OFDM-FSO framework can realize high data transmission rates, efficiently serving front-haul and backhaul needs, thereby signifying a significant evolutionary leap for the next generation of wireless technology. The numerical findings demonstrate the significant impact of the coherent FSO OFDM optical wireless communication (OWC) setup in UAV wireless communications to ground links, particularly in mitigating the effects of strong turbulence and pointing errors (PEs). Through the integration of spatial coherence diversity and adaptive modulation OFDM in the coherent OWC, there has been a noticeable enhancement in the average spectral efficiency (ASE). Notably, our results indicate an ASE of 53 bits/s/Hz and 37 bits/s/Hz achieved at an average transmitted optical power of 10 dBm for an aperture diameter of 10 cm, without and with PEs for the coherent OWC-FSO OFDM UAV technique, respectively. The proposed method was validated through simulations, demonstrating both improved average spectral efficiency and effective reduction of the scintillation effect. This approach holds promise for mitigating scintillation effects in UAV-FSO links.

Orbital angular momentum-mediated machine learning for high-accuracy mode-feature encoding

Machine learning with optical neural networks has featured unique advantages of the information processing including high speed, ultrawide bandwidths and low energy consumption because the optical dimensions (time, space, wavelength, and polarization) could be utilized to increase the degree of freedom. However, due to the lack of the capability to extract the information features in the orbital angular momentum (OAM) domain, the theoretically unlimited OAM states have never been exploited to represent the signal of the input/output nodes in the neural network model. Here, we demonstrate OAM-mediated machine learning with an all-optical convolutional neural network (CNN) based on Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam modes with diverse diffraction losses. The proposed CNN architecture is composed of a trainable OAM mode-dispersion impulse as a convolutional kernel for feature extraction, and deep-learning diffractive layers as a classifier. The resultant OAM mode-dispersion selectivity can be applied in information mode-feature encoding, leading to an accuracy as high as 97.2% for MNIST database through detecting the energy weighting coefficients of the encoded OAM modes, as well as a resistance to eavesdropping in point-to-point free-space transmission. Moreover, through extending the target encoded modes into multiplexed OAM states, we realize all-optical dimension reduction for anomaly detection with an accuracy of 85%. Our work provides a deep insight to the mechanism of machine learning with spatial modes basis, which can be further utilized to improve the performances of various machine-vision tasks by constructing the unsupervised learning-based auto-encoder.

Real-time demonstration of two-aperture coherent digital combining free-space optical transmission with a real-valued MIMO adaptive equalizer.

Compared with the single-aperture system, the multi-aperture coherent digital combining system has the technical advantage of the effective mitigation of deep fading under strong turbulence, ease of scalability, and potential higher collected optical power. However, the tricky problem of a multi-aperture system is to efficiently combine multiple branch signals with a static skew mismatch and with time-varying characteristics of received power scintillation. In this Letter, a real-valued massive array multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) adaptive equalizer is proposed for the first time to our knowledge to realize multi-aperture channel equalization and combining, simultaneously. In the proof-of-principle system, the feasibility of the combining technique is verified based on a MIMO 4 × 2 equalizer in a 2.5-GBaud data rate QPSK modulation FPGA-based two-aperture coherent receiver with a dynamic turbulence simulator. The results show that no reduction in combining efficiency is observed under static turbulence conditions at the hard-decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) limit of 3.8 × 0-3, and combining efficiencies of 95% and 88% are obtained for the dynamic moderate and strong turbulence.

A dual-modality optical system for single-pixel imaging and transmission through scattering media

It is well recognized that it is difficult to develop an optical system to retrieve effective information when dynamic and turbid water exists in an optical channel. It could be more challenging to incorporate dual or multiple modalities in one optical system. In this Letter, we report a dual-modality optical system for single-pixel imaging (SPI) and transmission through scattering media. A series of mutually-orthogonal random illumination patterns are designed and adopted to realize high-resolution image recovery in SPI. The data to be transmitted are also encoded into random illumination patterns in a differential way, and high-fidelity free-space optical data transmission can be simultaneously realized. Experimental results validate feasibility of the proposed optical system and its high robustness against scattering. The developed dual-modality optical system realizes high-resolution SPI and high-fidelity data transmission in scattering media using only one set of realizations, offering an efficient implementation with reduced power and equipment requirements. The proposed method is promising toward the development of an integrated system with multiple modalities for optical information retrieval, especially in dynamic scattering media.

Characterizing Complex Permittivity of Thin Materials by Free Space Transmission and Reflection Coefficients

Characterizing Complex Permittivity of Thin Materials by Free Space Transmission and Reflection Coefficients

Blue micro-LED with a red/green blended polymer film for 3.5-Gbps visible light communication employing adaptive SNR-Flattening Algorithm

By the semipolar blue single GaN μ-LED and blended Ir(piq)2(acac) + CC-MP5 polymer thin film color converter, a high-speed white-light μ-LED-based system is built up for the applications of short-distance VLC. The characteristics and properties of both devices are analyzed to understand the requirements for transmission and illumination. By selecting the growing orient, the influence of QCSE is reduced in this GaN μ-LED. Meanwhile, possessing the low reflection characteristic, it is beneficial for signal modulation. For the polymer thin film color converter with a lifetime of 7.8 ns, low surface reflection and high conversion efficiency are thought of good properties. Color-converted cool white light has a CCT of around 7000 K and high color accuracy with a CRI of about 90. The APD-combined frequency responses of the GaN μ-LED and GaN μ-LED + polymer are measured as 750 MHz and 600 MHz, respectively. After the optimization by utilizing the adaptive SNR-flattening pre-emphasis algorithm, the transmission performance of the white-light μ-LED is significantly promoted. For NRZ-OOK encoding, a 1.4 Gbps 0.15-m free-space transmission is achieved with a rising time of 656.33 ps, a falling time of 493.32 ps, and a Q-factor of 4.75. Besides, in more advanced data formats, the performance of this white-light μ-LED can be better highlighted. For the same 0.15-m free-space VLC, a high-speed 3 Gbps broadband 8-QAM-OFDM transmission is fulfilled with an EVM of 23.9%, an average SNR of 12.5, and a BER below 3.8 × 10-3; while to the best of our knowledge, a record 3.5 Gbps BL-DMT transmission is implemented as well. This white-light μ-LED can also be integrated into large-scale arrays for multi-functional VLC applications.

Low Cost Led Source Based Transmission System for Achieving Freespace Li-Fi Multimedia Communication

Physical network layer linking microprocessors are often used in congested office rooms. In forming new extensions with physical networking cables, may not be faceable or may not advantageous. Linking such communication to devices through free space transmission of multimedia signals with the use of optoelectronic devices is a major developing research area today. For that, different low cost optoelectronic sources were need to be tested while the same source should be able to use for normal light illumination of such office rooms. During this research project, a novel multimedia transmission system has been developed as an alternative solution for the aforementioned problem. Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) based systems with radio wave may effects human lives. Nevertheless, the data transference speed is higher in Li- Fi (Light Fidelity) than Wi-Fi. Li- Fi based system which can be used for environmentally friendly non radiation hazardous, high data rate transmission network developing with low cost. The proposed system is at premium capable transmission level at present in order to transmit one multimedia component; sound waves using LI-FI. Using the proposed model, further development of the complete Li-Fi system can be made using locally available low cost components, which is an advantage. The concept of LED switching /blinking rate controlling was utilized here. The data transference rate is very high, so that it is impossible for the hackers to get through the connections. Nowadays, security is the rising demand for wireless data communication. The existing radio spectrum below 10 GHz has become inadequate. Hence, the wireless communication company has replied to this challenge by considering the radio spectrum beyond 10 GHz. There are many reasons which have been considered for the necessity to cover wireless network technologies expected to ever-increasing stipulation for wireless communications. Wi-Fi is facing many challenges; with manageability, service scalability, bandwidth capacity, cost effectiveness, availability, efficiency and security [Begam et el. (2021)].

EFFECT OF THICK VEGETATION COVER, BUILDING OBSTRUCTIONS, AND EARTH TERRAIN ON THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE GSM SIGNAL AT THE FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC ADO-EKITI

Wireless communication system performance is fundamentally constrained by the mobile radio channels such as the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM). The transmission path between the base transceiver station and the mobile station can range from line-of-sight to substantially obstructed environmental situations such as buildings, earth undulation valleys, and thick vegetation being the primary cause of poor network performance in and around the school perimeter. Mobile radio channels are incredibly unpredictable and do not provide simple analysis, in contrast to stationary and reliable wired channels. This research work, therefore, investigates the effect of thick vegetation cover, building obstructions, and earth terrain on the quality and performance of the GSM signal at the Federal Polytechnic Ado-Ekiti environs. A model for path loss (attenuation) is developed according to the Longley-Rice propagation model that forecasts the long-term median transmission loss over uneven terrain in comparison to the free-space transmission loss. The model was created for frequencies in the 20 MHz to 40 GHz range and path lengths in the 1 to 2,000 km range. The analysis of the results obtained shows that the path loss (attenuation) produced due to the effect of vegetation, building obstructions, and the earth undulation structures are quite significant. The solution of cell creation as a primary way of improving the quality of the GSM signal reception in the school perimeter without necessarily destroying the natural environment or demolishing any existing building is proposed.

High efficiency grating couplers for strain tunable GaAs quantum dot based entangled photon sources

The on-chip integration of single photon and entangled photon emitters such as epitaxially grown semiconductor quantum dots into photonic frameworks is a rapidly evolving research field. GaAs quantum dots offer high purity and a high degree of entanglement due to, in part, exhibiting very small fine structure splitting along with short radiative lifetimes. Integrating strain-tunable quantum dots into nanostructures enhances the quantum optical fingerprint, i.e., radiative lifetimes and coupling of these sources, and allows for on-chip manipulation and routing of the generated quantum states of light. Efficient out-coupling of photons for off-chip processing and detection requires carefully engineered mesoscopic structures. Here, we present numerical studies of highly efficient grating couplers reaching up to over 90% transmission. A 2D Gaussian mode overlap of 83.39% for enhanced out-coupling of light from within strain-tunable photonic nanostructures for free-space transmission and single-mode fiber coupling is shown. The photon wavelength under consideration is 780 nm, corresponding to the emission from GaAs quantum dots resembling the 87Rb D2 line. The presented numerical study helps implement such sources for applications in complex quantum optical networks.

Performance analysis of the RoFSO system over a log-normal turbulent link

Abstract This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the design and performance evaluation of a radio over free space transmission link using Optisystem v.20 software. The research focuses on the integration of four transmission channels through the use of a multiplexer to achieve a transfer rate of 40 Gbps over a distance of 2 km, with each channel carrying 10 Gbps of data. This is achieved by modulating data on 20 GHz radio frequency signals, which are subsequently transmitted via laser waves at different frequencies. The performance of the proposed communication is assessed by evaluating its behavior in the presence of different levels of atmospheric turbulence, classified as light, medium, and strong. This analysis involves calculating based on metrics such as the Q-factor, bit error rate (BER), and log values (BER). The results showed that the Q factor decreased by (4.7) under the influence of a strong disturbance, while in contrast, it decreased by (0.2) under the influence of a weak disturbance. The results also indicated a minimum log BER (at −7.96) for the wavelength (193.3 THz) at 1.5 km. Besides, the best frequency for data transfer was (193.1 THz), followed by (193.4 THz).

Generation and free-space transmission characterization of bottle vortex beam

Vortex beams carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) with the doughnut-shaped intensity distribution can be employed in free-space optical (FSO) communication links to circumvent obstructions. However, the size of the receiver aperture is proportional to the size of obstructions, which seriously constrains the application of OAM beams in this scenario. In this paper, we propose a method to generate bottle vortex beams (BVBs) with a parabolic trajectory by manipulating the radial phase distribution of conventional OAM beams. Meanwhile, the trajectory of BVBs generated are highly compatible with the predesigned trajectory by using this method. Moreover, we evaluate the free-space transmission performance of BVBs under atmospheric turbulence and limited receiving aperture. The results show that BVBs have better OAM FSO communication link performance compared with conventional OAM beams and Bessel beams. In addition, the performance of the BVBs circumventing obstructions is further investigated. The simulation results show that when setting the atmospheric turbulence strength D/r0 = 2 and the obstruction size of 40 mm, the average received optical power of the BVBs captured by a limited receiving aperture diameter (d = 40 mm) is improved about 7 dB and 3 dB compared to conventional OAM beams and Bessel beams, respectively.

Influences of edge dislocation on optical vortex transmission

Through theoretical calculation, the analytical expression for the cross-spectral density function of vortex beam with and without edge dislocation during transmission in turbulent atmosphere and free space is obtained. The calculation result is used for researching the influences of edge dislocation on optical vortex transmission. The research shows that due to the edge dislocation, when the optical vortex's topological charge is greater than +1, the optical vortex will no longer carry out steady transmission in the free space transmission. Instead, it will divide into two optical vortices, and the distance between them will gradually increase as the transmission distance increases. Optical vortex will split in turbulent atmosphere propagation. Due to the edge dislocation, when the topological charge of optical vortex is greater than +2, it is found that the distance between one optical vortex and other optical vortices is much larger than that between other optical vortices. Besides, when there's an edge dislocation, the greater the light wavelength and the structure constant are, the smaller the distance between the optical vortex and the edge dislocation on the source plane is, and the evolution of the optical vortex will be accelerated.

Broadband Port-Selective Silicon Beam Scanning Device for Free-Space Optical Communication

Indoor free space optical (FSO) communication technology that provides high-speed connectivity to edge users is expected to be introduced in the near future mobile communication system, where the silicon photonics solid-state beam scanning device is a promising tool because of its low cost, long-term reliability, and other beneficial properties. However, the current two-dimensional beam scanning devices using grating coupler arrays have difficulty in increasing the transmission capacity because of bandwidth regulation. To solve the problem, we have introduced a broadband surface optical coupler, “elephant coupler,” which has great potential for combining wavelength and spatial division multiplexing technologies into the beam scanning device, as an alternative to grating couplers. The prototype port-selective silicon beam scanning device fabricated using a 300 mm CMOS pilot line achieved broadband optical beam emission with a 1 dB-loss bandwidth of 40 nm and demonstrated beam scanning using an imaging lens. The device has also exhibited free-space signal transmission of non-return-to-zero on-off-keying signals at 10 Gbps over a wide wavelength range of 60 nm. In this paper, we present an overview of the developed beam scanning device. Furthermore, the theoretical design guidelines for indoor mobile FSO communication are discussed.