In-Band Full-Duplex Free-Space Optical Transceiver Design for Flying Platforms

Free-space optical (FSO) communication is one of the crucial branches of wireless communication that utilizes light to transmit signals through the air. Being an essential element of the FSO system, the transceiver design plays a vital role in sending and receiving optical signals. In this work, we propose a multi-element transceiver design that can be a potential solution for improving FSO communication link effectiveness for mobile platforms such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). We formulate the problem of placing optoelectronic transmitters (e.g., lasers or Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)) and receivers (e.g., photodetectors (PDs)) on a transceiver plane. The formulation aims to maximize the Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) among two hovering UAVs. Applying the Genetic Algorithm (GA) for optimization, we show that the SINR is maximized when 43% of the transceiver plane is covered with lasers with 5 mRad divergence. We show that, at certain link ranges, a particular pattern of laser placement on the transceiver plane gives result to the best performance, making it possible to replicate the transceiver design for multiple platforms without having to perform mechanical steering.