Low-cost free-space optical communication system design

Commercial and military interest in free-space optical communication (FSO) is growing due to high bandwidths, portability and high security. Although there are numerous advantages, atmospheric events, such as attenuation and scintillation, severely affect link quality. Novel methods of mitigating atmospheric events are applied. The use of large aperture lenses and high transmitted power, in order to decrease scintillation effects, increases the system cost. Fresnel lenses, as an alternative to the classic optical system for mitigating scintillation effects, provide a low-cost solution. As a result of the technological improvements on the output power and divergence angles of VSCEL (vertical cavity surface emitting laser), high-speed cost effective FSO communication system designs are enabled. Current applied FSO systems are analysed and an alternative low-cost Fresnel lens optical system is designed.