Broadband Sensors Optical Wireless Local Area Networks

这项研究的目标是设计无线光通信技术，以便集成到传感器网络中。该方法是利用低成本、紧凑、节能的白光LED和光刻光收发器，结合室内环境信道建模和空间编码多址技术，实现传感器之间的安全宽带通信接口。这项工作的智能优点在于它具有提供优于传统射频技术的容量和服务质量的潜力。这项研究直接解决了在获得并行的独立光通信信道方面的挑战，该信道将提供一种空间分集的手段，这反过来将导致改善功率预算。此外，将光刻(薄膜)分束器、合束器和白光LED用于收发光学设备，为传感器网络通信提供了一个具有挑战性但很有前景的新领域。这项研究的更广泛影响包括为依赖传感器收集/分发重要信息的设施(医院、飞机、船舶、工厂)建立更高效、更可靠的通信链路。与射频敏感器件共存将使所提出的系统具有健壮性和普遍使用的吸引力。此外，这项研究将有助于教育，将其纳入光学和无线通信科学与工程课程，为本科生和研究生提供机会，获得与无线光学通信系统设计和网络相关的多学科实践经验。

The objective of this research is to design wireless optical communication techniques for integration into sensor networks. The approach is to employ low-cost, compact-sized, and power-efficient white LEDs and photolithographic optical transceivers, in conjunction with indoor environment channel modeling and spatially coded multiple access techniques, to realize secure broadband communications interfaces among sensors.The intellectual merit of this work lies in its potential to provide capacity and quality-of-service superior to conventional radio frequency techniques. This research directly addresses the challenges in obtaining parallel independent optical communications channels that will provide a means of spatial diversity, which, in turn, will result in improved power budget. Furthermore, use of photolithographic (thin film) beam splitters and combiners and white LEDs for transceiver optics pose a challenging, but promising, new area for sensor networks communications.The broader impacts of this research include more efficient and more reliable communication links for facilities that rely upon sensors for collecting/distributing vital information (hospitals, planes, ships, factory plants). Co-existence with RF sensitive devices will make the proposed system robust and attractive for universal usage. Furthermore, this research will contribute to education by being incorporated into lectures on optics and wireless communications science and engineering, providing opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to obtain multi-disciplinary hands-on experience on issues related to wireless optical communications system design and networking.