Optical Fi-Wi-Fi Bridge with 32-Port Focal Plane Fiber Array for Robust Waveguide Coupling

An all-fiber focal plane beamformer with 32 fine-pitched antenna elements and 1×32 switch is employed for robust coupling of light between two optical single-mode waveguides over a free-space link. The penalty in bit error ratio due to an angular receiver misalignment can be fully mitigated.