Analysis and comparison of experimental and simulated results for an omnidirectional free space optical receiver architecture

Lasercomm or Free Space Optical (FSO) communication has the potential to provide fiber optic data rates without the need for wired physical connectivity. This paper investigates the feasibility of an Omnidirectional FSO (O-FSO) communications link that utilizes fiber bundles for improved omni-directionality and compares experimental data with modeled results. Current state of the art O-FSO link ranges are limited to 100 meters or so, with data rates of only a few100 kbits/sec. The proposed architecture is formed from commercially available fiber bundle that collects omnidirectional light due to the hemispheric nature of the fiber bundle by exploiting the acceptance cones of the individual fiber exposed to the optical radiation. The experimental transmitter is composed of an LED source that is driven by an On-Off-Keying signal. This paper presents the received optical power while varying the range between the transmitter and receiver. The omni-directionality of this architecture is also verified. The measured results are then compared to the model predictions for omni-directionality and range.